We recently held a celebration for this year’s recipient of the DAISY Award for Exceptional Nursing, Joanne Deferville, RN, BSN.

The ceremony included a special visit from the DAISY Foundation’s founders, Bonnie and Mark Barnes. The Barnes’ son, Patrick, died in 1999 at age 33 from an auto-immune disease. The skilled, compassionate nursing care they experienced during Patrick’s eight weeks of hospitalization motivated them to start the DAISY Foundation and the DAISY Award for Exceptional Nursing.

This year, Sherman’s DAISY Council received a record 171 nominations for nurses demonstrating exceptional patient and family care. Joanne is Sherman’s fourth recipient of the DAISY Award. Joanne received her B.S.N. from DePaul University and she began her nursing career at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.  She joined Sherman 35 years ago in the Cardiac Care Unit.  Her passion for cardiology led her to pioneer Sherman’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program in which she currently works full time.

Below are just a few photos from the celebration. To view all of the photos taken during the ceremony, check out our photo album on Facebook.