ATLANTA (April 23, 2018) – The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and The Daisy Foundation have announced the recipients of the 2018 IHI/NPSF Daisy Awards for Extraordinary Nurses. Erin Harlow-Parker, MS, APRN, PMSCNS-BC, a Nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, has been chosen to receive the individual award.
The awards will be conferred during the IHI/NPSF Patient Safety Congress, which takes place May 23 through May 25, 2018, in Boston, Mass.
Erin is an Advanced Practice Nurse at Children’s, specializing in behavioral health in the pediatric population. She has led or contributed to numerous initiatives to improve the care of young patients in the Emergency Department, particularly those in need of timely placement of inpatient psychiatric treatment. She has also collaborated with Georgia state officials to advocate on behalf of children with behavioral and developmental disorders, a population that is especially hard to place in treatment because of a lack of appropriate facilities.
"Children with psychiatric disorders are at serious risk of harm, and they and their families often experience long waits in emergency departments while seeking appropriate placement,” said Linda Cole, RN, MBA, FACHE, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer at Children’s. “Erin has worked tirelessly to improve patient safety and quality of care for this at-risk population, not only in our hospitals, but across Georgia."
This award program derives from The Daisy Foundation’s signature program, The Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses. More than 3,000 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing across the U.S. and in 17 other countries participate in the Daisy program, recognizing nurses and teams throughout the year for their extraordinary compassionate care. Nearly 100 nurses and nurse-led teams honored within their own organizations between January 2016 and June 2017 were candidates for the 2018 international awards being announced today, which place emphasis on work that improves workforce and patient safety.
Previously given in collaboration with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), the awards program is now in its fourth year. The 2018 honorees are the first chosen since NPSF merged with IHI.
"This year's honorees were chosen from a pool of truly awe-inspiring nurses. All of their stories demonstrate the extraordinary levels of care being provided to patients and families every day in our hospitals," said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Co-Founder and President of The Daisy Foundation. "As we continue to express gratitude to nurses around the world for their compassion, we are proud to partner with IHI to put a powerful spotlight on the important contributions nurses are making to safe, high-quality care."