TJC Accredited
3 consecutive terms
(Thursday, June 16, 2022; Dededo, Guam) On May 12, Guam Regional Medical City (GRMC) announced the nurse recipient of The DAISY Award for 2022 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort. This is GRMC’s second time to participate in the prestigious DAISY Awards, which recognizes a nurse who has made a significant impact on the lives of his/her patients. This year’s DAISY honoree was awarded to Kristine “KC” Conde, a Registered Nurse in GRMC’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). KC had six nominations for the award submitted by her peers, ICU staff, and a family member to one of the ICU patients.
Chief Nursing Officer, Jennifer Cruz, read portions of the nomination forms where fellow nurses and patient family members shared KC’s compassion, her mission of providing quality care, and willingness to help both her colleagues and patients. “She genuinely loves what she does, and it shows through her enthusiasm to educate others in a way that makes them feel accomplished,” said nurse colleague and nominator Carmela Franquez. A patient’s family member said this about KC, “I believe Kristine has qualities of an extraordinary nurse. She is timely, attentive, and receptive to not only her patients but also her fellow coworkers.”
KC has been a Registered Nurse for a little over 6 years graduating from San Jose State University, California, in 2015. She began her nursing career at GRMC in 2016, working in the Emergency Department (ED); then in 2019, she became Nursing Supervisor part time while still in the ED. By the end of the year, she transferred to the ICU department and took over as ICU Manager in October 2021.
The DAISY Awards is a national program founded by the family of the late Patrick Barnes in 1999. Mr. Barnes was in the hospital fighting Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disorder where the immune system destroys the blood-clotting platelets. Throughout his treatment, both Mr. Barnes and his family were impressed by the level of skill, care, and compassion of his nurses, who prolonged his life more than once.
When Mr. Barnes passed away, the family decided to honor him by creating The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. On the DAISY Foundation website, his father Mark Barnes, said, “Frankly, as a patient family, we expected that Pat would have great clinical care. That was why he was in the hospital. What we did not expect was the way his nurses delivered that care – the kindness and compassion they gave Pat and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel.”
The DAISY Award honoree received a framed certificate, a DAISY Award signature lapel pin, and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled, “A Healer’s Touch.” Additionally, the honoree’s unit or department received Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, which are special to the Barnes family. During his illness, a nurse brought Cinnabon cinnamon rolls to the hospital. The delicious smell and soft texture quickly became the only food Patrick craved during his illness.