Chanda Hubert, a registered nurse with St. Mary's Emergency Department, received St. Mary's system-wide DAISY Award for nursing excellence on Dec. 18 for providing extraordinary care to a man with chest pain and his family.

The family member who nominated her is a physician and noted that Chanda explained what was happening, showed exceptional skill, provided invaluable assistance to the attending physician and even offered to get food for a family member who had not had time to get a bite to eat.

"Chanda went above and beyond, as she does all the time, to provide the highest level of care to this patient and his family," said Titus Gambrell, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President. "We received numerous nominations and hers really stood out to our committee."

Chanda is a resident of Watkinsville and has been a nurse at St. Mary's since 1999. The DAISY Award is not her first major honor at St. Mary's: In 2012, she received St. Mary's Spirit of Mercy Award, a monthly honor for staff who demonstrate exceptional devotion to the Mission and Core Values of St. Mary's and the hospital's legacy sponsors, the Sisters of Mercy.

The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day. Inspired by the care delivered to a dying young man, the DAISY Foundation partners with some 4,000 hospitals and schools in all 50 states and 26 nations to honor extraordinary nurses.

At St. Mary's, each DAISY Award honoree is recognized at a public ceremony on her/his unit with a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a hand-carved sculpture entitled "A Healer's Touch." In addition, everyone on the unit is invited to celebrate the occasion with cinnamon rolls, a favorite of the young man whose nurses inspired the creation of the DAISY Foundation.

Anyone can nominate a St. Mary's nurse for the DAISY Award, including patients, patient's family members, physicians or colleagues. Any nurse in the St. Mary's system – including those at all three hospitals as well as medical group offices – is eligible. The nomination simply asks you to share your story of why a particular nurse is special to you. St. Mary's will honor eight nurses each year. Nomination forms can be obtained from St. Mary's Nursing Administration Office or by calling 706.389.3238.