Judy Phillips, RN, Comforts Fellow Cancer Patient
ROME, Ga., Aug. 9, 2023 – Judy Phillips, a nurse at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center who is going through her own cancer journey, knew just how to comfort a patient who was also facing her own struggle.
“When Judy came in this morning, she could tell that I was struggling with my faith a little bit. She sat down beside me and told me that she too had been diagnosed with cancer and had been going through treatments," the patient wrote, nominating Phillips for a DAISY Award.
“She then pointed to a handmade bracelet on her wrist that said 'Pray.' Judy said that her friend had given it to her when she needed it, and whenever she looked down at it, she would pray for God's strength and thank him for all that he had done in her life," the patient wrote. “She said it was now time to pass the bracelet on to someone else who needed it. The fact that she is going through something so big, but can still put others above herself says so much about the person she is. Thank you. You were a blessing in my life this morning. God bless you."
The DAISY Award is an international program that recognizes bedside nurses for the exceptional care they provide patients. The family of Patrick Barnes established the award after he died from an autoimmune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital. Potential DAISY winners can only be nominated by a patient or a patient's family member.
Phillips, a registered nurse with Inpatient Rehabilitation, was presented with a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer's Touch." DAISY sculptures are hand-carved for the DAISY Foundation by members of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The nurse and her teammates were also treated with cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Patrick Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.
Phillips, who has worked on and off at Floyd for about 30 years, has been in her own fight with cancer for about a year.
“I knew just how she felt," Phillips said of the patient she helped. “I knew how I wanted to be treated and so I was able to treat her the same way."
“Sometimes we have our own challenges, and we never know when we can use our own challenges for good," said Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Atrium Health Floyd, who presented Phillips with the award.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,5 00 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.