Nurse Mary Bruns receives DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses

Mary Bruns, a valued nurse at Orange City Area Health System, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Gwen Post, Sanford Health Nursing and Clinical Services Consultant, presented the award to Mary on May 22, 2024. Mary has been a registered nurse at Orange City Area Health System since August of 1989 after obtaining her nursing license from Western Iowa Tech.

Mary was nominated for this award by two patients and their families:

Tony and Ruby Chavez: “We had the pleasure of meeting Nurse Mary in my wife’s delivery room. She welcomed my wife and I, also our daughters Adriana (15) and Adena (10). At that point, we informed her they would also be in the room for the delivery. She was very helpful and informative to the girls about the process and what was going to take place. Throughout the morning, she discussed all the monitors and sounds with my daughters and made my wife feel as comfortable as she could. She shared some of her 40 years' worth of experiences with us also. She made us feel special and blessed to be with her. She did not mind all the questions the girls and I had for her. Her smile was always there and kept our main doctor informed at all times. Being this was our sixth child and my wife has fast deliveries, she took what we said into consideration. When it was time for the baby to come, she coached my wife and was very supportive and explained to the girls what was happening in the moment. And as the stars line-up, we had Mary for discharge day and she discussed many things with us and met our four other children as well. She is someone I will never forget and I hope all my children have encounters with nurses like Mary. She is the best.”

Karissa Barfield: “Mary was so patient and kind with me being a new mother. She was frequently in my room and even gave Landon his first bath. She went the extra mile with my education. Thank you Mary!”

“The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by members of the family of Patrick Barnes. He was 33 years old and died of complications of the auto-immune disease ITP. Like many families we see every day who go through this kind of horrific loss, the Barnes family wanted to do something positive to honor the very special man Patrick was. So, as they say, over a very “liquid” dinner right after Pat’s death, 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. 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 healthcare organizations around the world.” –the Daisy Foundation