DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The Foundation was formed in January, 2000, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP).

Everyone who met Pat even once was touched by his positive spirit and his sense of humor. Twice a survivor of Hodgkin's Disease, Pat was driven by a desire to befriend others and help them in any way he could. His legacy is clear: whenever he came across anyone in need, he never turned his back. He reached out to comfort, to make them feel okay. Pat was a natural mentor, sharing his phenomenally positive outlook on life with a wide network of friends and family around the country with whom he stayed in constant contact. The DAISY Foundation was established to keep his very special spirit alive.

As we brainstormed what to do in Pat's memory, the one really positive thing we could hold onto from the experience of his eight-week illness was the skillful and amazingly compassionate care he received from his nurses - even when he was totally sedated. So we created The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses to recognize the super-human work nurses do every day all over the country. This program achieves one of the four goals we established for The Foundation, the others being

• To fund research to improve treatment and ultimately cure ITP and related illnesses
• To assist and inform people with ITP
• To encourage bone marrow and blood drives since the treatment of ITP can require massive amounts of these

Since DAISY's inception, we have found ourselves focusing more of our resources, time, and frankly, affection on The DAISY Award than on the other goals. The level of acceptance and appreciation by hospitals has astounded and gratified us. Hospital administrators view The DAISY Award not only as a way to acknowledge outstanding nursing but also as a strategic tool in managing the nurse shortage that threatens the heart of our healthcare system. Nurses who experience DAISY presentations are moved and motivated by them.

It is especially exciting that as of January, 2008, DAISY and the American Organization of Nurse Executives AONE have entered into collaboration to ensure that we achieve our Vision of having The DAISY Award in every hospital that wants it, deserves it, and is willing to do what it takes to make it meaningful for their nurses. AONE has hired a Project Manager to focus on expanding our program, applying their significant marketing and management resources to The DAISY Award.

We are very proud of the program's accomplishments for nurses. With AONE, The DAISY Foundation will work to continue its expansion into more and more hospitals. Patrick would have loved this!

Moreover, we have found a way to link our passion for nurses with our drive to help find better treatment for patients with auto-immune diseases like ITP: In 2007, we launched the J. Patrick Barnes Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Grant Projects. For more about this and other DAISY activities, please read on!


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