Fall 2023 DAISY Award®

Amy Andersen, a 2023 graduate of the registered nursing program at Kankakee Community College, has been awarded the DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nursing Students.

The annual award is part of The DAISY Foundation's mission to express gratitude to nurses with programs that recognize them for the extraordinary, compassionate, and skillful care they provide patients and families.

Andersen, a Kankakee resident, received the award on Dec. 14, 2023, during the college’s Fall  RN Pinning Ceremony. Andersen received a certificate; a DAISY Award pin; and a sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which was hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

During the Fall 2023 semester, while Andersen was completing a clinical rotation on an intermediate care unit, she was nominated by one of the patients she cared for.

“Amy was exceptionally attentive to all of my needs, and went above and beyond other expectations of my care,” the patient said. “She is an excellent student nurse and will be an excellent nurse in the future.”

Before graduation from KCC, Andersen accepted a job to continue as a full-time nurse.

KCC’s two-year registered nursing program has a competitive entry process, and accepts new students each fall and spring semester. It incorporates classroom lectures, clinical experiences and lab demonstrations. The program is designed to prepare students for work in hospital departments, as well as in long-term care, home care, business and industry, outpatient clinics, public agencies, and physicians’ offices.

For information about entry requirements, consult with a KCC advisor or contact the program director, Kellee Hayes at khayes@kcc.edu or phone 815-802-8828.

About The DAISY Foundation

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 the creation of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing nurse recognition and thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

More information is available at DAISYfoundation.org.