Bowman receives extraordinary nursing award. 

Bowman receives extraordinary nursing award. 

LUDINGTON (Mason County) — Emily Bowman, RN, an inpatient charge nurse at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, was selected as the hospital’s latest recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The announcement was made at a ceremony held at the Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital.

Bowman was not aware she had been nominated and selected until her name was called during the ceremony. She was nominated by a former patient who had been hospitalized in May 2022.

“I didn’t know I was nominated for the DAISY Award and was gobsmacked when I was notified I had won,” said Bowman. “It’s an honor to receive this, and I’m grateful to my patient. I joined Memorial Medical Center in 2005 as a nurse on the medical inpatient unit before the integration with Spectrum Health. It is very gratifying to me to be a part of helping patients get better. Any day I can make a difference in a patient’s life is a good day!”

The patient indicated on the nomination form, “During my stay at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, I was treated very well by all staff members. I would like to especially thank and recognize Emily Bowman because without reservation she is willing to go the extra mile to see that her patients are taken care of and are comfortable. She is a real ray of sunshine. I hope that if I ever have to return to the hospital, I get Emily as my nurse or someone just like her.”

Karen Soper, inpatient nurse manager at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, said Brown is a very deserving nurse for the award. “Emily has a good rapport with patients,” said Soper. “She is kind and caring, and very efficient in her nursing duties. She is good at making sure patients are comfortable during their stay with us and that they have everything they need. Patients love that she is understanding of what they are experiencing. And her teammates all appreciate how competent she is. I’m very grateful to have staff members like Emily working on the inpatient units. She makes our jobs easier because she is so good at hers.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Barnes 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.

Nurses are nominated for the DAISY Award by patients, families and colleagues, and they are chosen by a committee of nurses at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital. Awards are given multiple times a year, with each honoree given a certificate and a sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch.”

Online nominations can be completed at www.spectrumhealth.org/Ludington by clicking on the DAISY Award section at the bottom of the page. At the Ludington Hospital, nomination forms and boxes are also at all nurse stations, in lobbies and in the medical offices.