Compassionate Nurse celebrated at GRMC

​    UnityPoint Health® – Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) was proud to honor Kristina Beck, RN, BSN, intensive care unit (ICU) with The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses during Nurses’ Week in May. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care that nurses provide patients and families every day.
     Beck was nominated by a patient who is legally deaf, but is able to read lips. Beck said all nurses are required to wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), so she wore a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator), an over the head mask with a clear face shield, so she could see the patient and the patient could read her lips when she talked.
   “She had a difficult time understanding what everyone was saying prior to me doing so,” said Beck.
    “She suited up with a mask that was clear to take care of me so I could see her face,” the patient wrote in her nomination. “I about cried when I saw that. It’s hard being a deaf person, living in a masked world, and what she did for me really, really touched my heart.”
    Beck was surrounded by her team members and leaders as the video nomination was shared during the DAISY award presentation.
    “It is an absolute honor to receive the award for doing something that was not above and beyond in my eyes,” Beck said following the award presentation. “I’m very touched that it meant so much to her.”
    The DAISY Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for “diseases attacking the immune system.” 
    “Congratulations to Beck for this prestigious honor,” noted a hospital spokesperson.
 To recognize a nurse who has gone above and beyond, visit https://www.unitypoint.org/grinnell/recognize-your-nurse.aspx. For more information about The DAISY Award, visit http://DAISYfoundation.org.