Tempe Nurse Receives DAISY Award

A Tempe resident recently received the DAISY Award, which recognizes nurses for their outstanding care. Ann Longacre, RN, has been member of the team at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center for more than four decades. She is described as valued team player who makes sure to create relationships with all patients under her care. Longacre has built a reputation of being dependable and accessible. She is passionate about her role at the hospital and her enthusiasm shows in everyday interactions she has with both patients and coworkers. Longacre is a well-deserving recipient of the DAISY Award because she has an extensive history of providing excellent care and serving as a vital member of the surgical team at St. Joseph's.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is part of The DAISY (D)iseases Attacking the Immune System Foundation's program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses make every day.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., was established by J. Mark Barnes and his family in memory of his son J. Patrick Barnes. J. Patrick died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (IT)P, a little-known autoimmune disease. The nursing care Patrick and his family received while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.

"We are proud to be among the hospital systems participating in The DAISY Award program," says Patty White, president and CEO of Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. "Nurses are heroes every day. It's important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides another way for us to do that."