Marissa Baeza, clinical coordinator and nurse for DaVita Odessa Dialysis, was recently honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses.
The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s programs to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
Baeza helps to oversee clinical care for patients with kidney failure who receive dialysis treatment at DaVita Odessa Dialysis. DaVita leaders, fellow care team members and patients celebrated Baeza for her tireless efforts to make each patient and their families feel special, comforted and cared for.
This was never more evident than during Winter Storm Uri, when some of her fellow dialysis care workers couldn’t make the trip into work because of hazardous road conditions near their homes. On her days off, Baeza volunteered to brave the storm – traveling to open DaVita dialysis centers to help with patient treatment. As the city battled intermittent water and power loss, Baeza also led the effort to find treatment options and coordinate transportation for impacted DaVita patients.
“By recognizing nurses who received DAISY awards, we are celebrating their profound compassion and motivation to positively impact the lives of our patients and help them be successful on their unique care journeys,” Mandy Tilton, chief nursing officer for DaVita Kidney Care, said.
The DAISY Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by his family. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, president and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, said. “Yet, these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at DaVita are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”
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