Eva Mhlongo, nursing manager at Mediclinic Bloemfontein, joins Kayla Barker to discuss the impact and importance of nurses and reflects on her own career at Mediclinic.

Mediclinic honours the compassion, dedication, and resilience of nurses worldwide. Happy International Nurses Day!

Mediclinic Bloemfontein's Bianca de Villiers was awarded this year's The Daisy Foundation Award.

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by members of the family of Patrick Barnes. He was 33 years old when he died of complications of the auto-immune disease ITP. Like many families who go through this kind of horrific loss, the Barnes family wanted to do something positive to honor the very special man Patrick was. 

They came up with DAISY – an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. As they brainstormed what The DAISY Foundation would actually do, they kept coming back to the one positive thing they held on to during Pat’s 8-week illness: the extraordinary care he and they received from Pat’s nurses. The family was very impressed by the clinical care Pat’s nurses provided, but what really overwhelmed them was the compassion and kindness that his nurses brought to Pat’s bedside day in and day out. The nurses’ sensitivity made a great difference in the Barnes’ experience, and they wanted to say Thank You to nurses for the extraordinary care they provide patients and families every day. 

So, Pat’s family created The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses. What started out as a thank you from their family to nurses has grown into a meaningful recognition program embraced by thousands of healthcare organizations around the world.