CMH announces Anderson as April 2019 DAISY Award winner

Amanda Anderson, a registered nurse with Ash Grove Family Medical Center  – a Citizens Memorial Hospital clinic – was named the CMH DAISY Award winner for April 2019. Anderson received the award during a surprise ceremony at the clinic on April 30.
Anderson says that she is a patient advocate and to have a patient recognize her in this way means a lot. A resident of Ash Grove, Anderson enjoys interacting with her patients. “I love developing those relationships with my patients and seeing them in the community.”
One of Anderson’s patients, William McKinley, admires the way that Anderson takes care of him and nominated her for the DAISY award.
“I met Amanda several years ago when I went in for a routine physical,” shares McKinley in his nomination letter. “Amanda’s professionalism, compassion and passion for her work immediately impressed me. She treats everyone – both patients and co-workers – with respect and caring. She is energetic and focused on the well-being of all her patients and her lighthearted banter helps her patients through stress and anxiety.”
McKinley says that it was her “above and beyond the call of duty” that inspired him to nominate Anderson.
“She calls our house for follow-ups, making sure that we understand all information sent home with us. She calls, with our permission, our daughter to keep her in the loop of information. She has called at the hospital to check on my well-being when I’ve been admitted for health issues,” says McKinley. “She sees her patients as people, not as numbers, and it’s this people-focused approach that makes her special.”
Anderson has worked at AGFMC for four years and as a registered nurse for 12 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Cox College of Nursing, Springfield.
DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP), an auto-immune disease. The Barnes Family was awestruck by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for Barnes, so they created this international award to say thank you to nurses everywhere.
CMH implemented the DAISY Awards in January 2019 to recognize their own extraordinary nurses. Each month a CMH or Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation nurse will be presented with this recognition.