Monmouth Medical Nurse Honored For Excellence In Nursing

LONG BRANCH, NJ — A woman who lives in Highlands, and works as a cancer infusion nurse at Monmouth Medical Center cancer, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing.

Elizabeth “Betty” O’Donnell, MA, RN, OCN, was nominated by her colleagues. She was determined to be "an exceptional nurse who has excellent clinical skills and consistently demonstrates a loving and kind attitude to all her patients."

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed by the family of Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an auto-immune disease. His widow, Tena, (a DAISY Co-founder) created the acronym, and the Foundation and established the DAISY Recognition Program to honor the super-human work nurses do every day at the bedside.

Wrote her colleagues at the cancer ward of Monmouth Medical Center:

"Betty creates a deep connection with our patients starting from the first day of treatment. She does an exceptional job of teaching our patients how to manage their symptoms and what to expect after treatment. Her knowledge and genuine concern puts our patients at ease for what would be an extremely stressful day. Betty is the true example of a professional nurse. Patients feel safe in her care; she is a great resource of knowledge for any questions the patients or their families have.

Betty is also a resource for her colleagues; she has mentored our newest employees with the same care and trusting relationship that she gives her patients. Our new nurses flourish under her mentorship. She sets a great example for them.

She has made some very good contributions to the Ambulatory Care Shared Governance Council by supplying supportive articles on the problem of patient falls, and from these articles, she developed a brochure on how to identify patients who are at risk for falls. She is always the first to jump on board to support any new project being introduced to the unit. Betty is a great asset to our unit and is a strong reason why it has been so successful."