Local nurses honored with Daisy Awards to kick off ‘Nurses Week’

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Desert Regional Medical Center kicked off Nurses Week with a special celebration honoring three nurses with Daisy Awards and five other nurses who received scholarships from local organizations to continue their nursing professional education.

The DAISY Award is a nationwide recognition program to celebrate and recognize nurses by collecting nominations from patients, families, and co-workers. It is run by hospital partners as a way to thank nurses for the care and kindness they provide.

Daisy Awards were presented to the following nurses today:

• Carol Levinson, Unit: 4 Sinatra 
• Alison Cocan, Unit: 3 East
• Danya Martin, Unit: 3 East

 Four scholarships were presented to nurses to further their education for heart care. These were presented by Mended Hearts of the Coachella Valley, a peer-to-peer support group that visits patients who have heart procedures in local hospitals. The nurses who received scholarships are:

• Ricky Corona, Unit: 3 East
• Breanne Munoz, Unit: 3 Sinatra
• Tracey Nolte, Unit: 1 Central
• Kawaljit Tung, Unit:2  Sinatra

A fifth nurse – Desiree Green -- received a scholarship from West Coast University for a project proposal to help families deal with end-of-life journeys.

Nurses Week runs from May 6 through May 12, marking the birthday of famous nurse Florence Nightingale.