Lauren Gallagher, RN, Emergency Room, was recently recognized as a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses winner at SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital.
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® is part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues.
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
Gallagher was nominated by a patient who wrote:
“She helped me as soon as I walked in the door. She helped me on the bed, asked me how I could be more comfortable, helped with a pillow, and was very thorough. When figuring out my medication, she gave me a tissue when I started to cry. She was very caring and so kind, and when I was having an issue with my hair, she even helped by putting my hair up in a bun – the sweetest woman ever. She helped reposition my arm multiple times until it was in a comfortable position and she explained what was going on with my arm because I didn’t remember everything from the ER visit the night before. It was nice to actually know what medical terminology was, and she explained it in a way that I could understand it. I just really appreciated everything that she did and how kind she was and she did not care how long it took she stayed with me until I was comfortable. It was nice that I was not just a number. She treated me like a human being.”
Gallagher was recently recognized during a brief ceremony. She received a certificate commending her as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin, and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” according to Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, president and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do.” The kind of work the nurses at Waupun Memorial Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.
More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.
Lauren Gallagher, an SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital Emergency Room registered nurse, receives a DAISY Award from hospital leaders Nicole Gill, Alex Gago, and Emily Kosterman.
Date posted: June 19, 2026