Fall 2024 DAISY Award®

Bryana Novoa, a 2024 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.

Novoa, a Bourbonnais resident, was nominated by her clinical instructor, Pat Bukowski, then chosen by a committee at KCC. The award was presented on Dec. 12 at KCC’s Registered Nursing program pinning ceremony.

Novoa received a DAISY Award pin; certificate; and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-arved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

“During the beginning of the clinical semester, I was approached by two physicians who were both very impressed by Bryana Novoa,” Bukowski said in her nomination. “Dr. Frye approached me on 2 west (at St. Mary’s Hospital) to tell me how impressed he was with Bryana. He said, she was able to give him a thorough report on his patient and was able to answer all his questions during his quizzing of the student.

“Later that morning, a second physician, Dr. Anderson, approached me and told me that Bryana should get an A+. The second physician had also received a report from Bryana and stated she was also able to answer his clinical questions.

“Both physicians were impressed by her abilities to critically think through the disease process and give appropriate rationales and suggestions for the care of the patient. Throughout the semester, several patients expressed to me that Bryana would be an excellent nurse. She provided her patients with compassionate care and used good communication to ease their concerns. During clinicals Bryana would demonstrate leadership abilities while mentoring her peers. Bryana will have a positive impact on the nursing profession.”

Novoa has accepted a full-time position at Riverside Medical Center, working on a medical/pediatric floor.

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.

LPNs also can apply for advanced placement into KCC’s registered nursing program.

For information about entry requirements, consult with a KCC advisor or contact the program director, Jennifer Rogers at jrogers@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.