Patient Safety Excellence: IHI and DAISY Foundation Honor Exceptional Nurses
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and The DAISY Foundation have revealed the winners of the prestigious DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety. This year, the individual honoree is Ashley Smith, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, from Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital in Seneca, South Carolina. The team award is presented to the Adult Critical Care Nurses in the Intensive Care Units at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
The DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety will be presented at the 2025 IHI Patient Safety Congress, set for March 9-11 in San Diego, California. The conference, held during Patient Safety Awareness Week, will gather healthcare leaders, professionals, advocates, and learners from across the healthcare spectrum to discuss innovative health care strategies, actionable insights, and solutions aimed at delivering safer, more equitable care for all. Registration for the IHI Patient Safety Congress is currently open, with the full agenda available online.
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety honors nurses and clinical teams for their dedication to improving patient and workforce safety while providing compassionate care. More than 6,900 healthcare facilities and nursing schools across the U.S. and 43 other countries participate in the award program each year. Nurses and nurse-led teams from DAISY partner organizations were eligible for the 2025 award.
Patricia McGaffigan, RN, CPPS, Senior Advisor for Safety at IHI, and President of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, shared her appreciation for this year’s honorees: “These nurses have made significant contributions to safety, resulting in system-wide improvements that have impacted not just their organizations but healthcare as a whole. They embody the spirit of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety and are saving lives by shaping safer care systems.”
Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Co-founder of The DAISY Foundation, expressed her excitement about the partnership with IHI: “It’s a thrill to honor nurses who have made a profound impact on patient and workplace safety. The DAISY Award aligns perfectly with The DAISY Foundation’s focus on compassionate care—after all, there’s nothing more compassionate than protecting patients from harm.”
Individual Award: Ashley Smith, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital, Seneca, South Carolina
Ashley Smith is known for her unwavering dedication to patient safety and her ability to improve patient outcomes. At Prisma Health, Smith identified safety risks and used the organization’s clinical operating system to develop and implement several system-wide solutions. For instance, she enhanced the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to enable quick visualization of fall risk status, facilitating faster decision-making and better patient care. Smith also bridged the gap between chair alarms and status boards, leading to a 20% reduction in fall rates in her unit.
“Ashley Smith is a compassionate and empathetic trailblazer whose efforts have set new standards for patient safety,” said Connie Spykerman, DNP, MBA, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital. Smith has also made significant improvements to medication safety and workflow processes, contributing to a safer environment not only at Oconee Memorial Hospital but across the Prisma Health system.
Team Award: Adult Critical Care Nurses, Intensive Care Units, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
The ICU nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center demonstrated extraordinary commitment to patient safety when they discovered a nationwide issue with intravenous (IV) pumps. Nurses observed that the pumps were triggering excessive false occlusion alarms, interrupting the delivery of critical medications. After raising the concern through established communication channels, the nursing team collaborated with clinical engineering and the pump manufacturer. It was found that a software upgrade was causing the issue, which was affecting pumps nationwide. The issue resulted in a nationwide Class 1 recall, a designation given when there is a significant risk of harm or death to patients.
Pat Folcarelli, PhD, MA, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, praised the ICU team for their commitment to excellence: “This is a clear example of how our staff uses their passion for safety to advocate for change and mitigate risks.” Their work was recognized by the FDA for their significant contribution to promoting patient safety with medical devices.
About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a globally recognized non-profit organization that has spent over 30 years applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to address current and future healthcare challenges. IHI’s mission is to drive transformational improvement in healthcare, using its resources and methods to make care safer, better, and more equitable for people worldwide.
