Healer’s Touch – Symbol of excellence and love in nursing
DAISY Award statues now in hospital lobbies thanks to The Junior Board of Christiana Care
Caregivers, patients, visitors and others who cross the main hospital lobbies at Christiana Care these days are bound to notice The Healer’s Touch, a pair of three-foot tall African sculptures that represent a patient and caregiver holding one another.
The inspiring sculptures, made by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe for The DAISY Foundation as a tribute to nurses, are gifts from The Junior Board of Christiana Care and installed in the lobbies of Christiana and Wilmington hospitals.
“These are two wonderful examples of the Excellence and Love our nurses bring to everyone we are privileged to serve,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO of Christiana Care, at the Wilmington Hospital unveiling. “I look forward to passing The Healer’s Touch every day and pointing it out to colleagues and guests as a beautiful reminder of our nurses’ leadership in our commitment to serve together.”
The international DAISY Foundation, established by Mark and Bonnie Barnes to honor the care that their son, Patrick, received before he died of an autoimmune disease, is well known at Christiana Care as a special honor for exceptional nurses throughout the health system. Carved from serpentine, a dark green mineral, a smaller Healer’s Touch sculpture goes to nurses around the world in recognition of their extraordinary care.
Each month at Christiana Care, a nurse who is nominated by a patient, family member or colleague receives the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, along with a personal version of The Healer’s Touch sculpture, from the Professional Nurse Council. Nurse leaders and nursing teams also are honored.
“We should all strive to hold those we are devoted to in the same symbolic manner that we see in the sculpture,” said Paige Merring, BSN, RN, CCRN, chair of the Professional Nurse Council. “As caregivers, we partake in holding by protecting and defending the person to whom we are devoted. Whether it be our colleagues, patients or families, we want what is best for them and do that by exhibiting compassion, trust, and by creating a safe haven.
“We thank the Junior Board for the incredibly generous donation allowing us to install these beautiful sculptures,” said Merring. “They honor not only our extraordinary nurses but also each and every caregiver at Christiana Care.”
