Spring 2026 DAISY Award®

Daniela Hernadez-Patrevito a 2026 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.

Hernadez-Patrevito, a Momence resident, was chosen by a committee at KCC, and the award was presented on May 15 at the Registered Nursing pinning ceremony. Hernadez-Patrevito received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

Hernadez-Patrevito has accepted a position with Riverside Healthcare on a medical/pediatric floor.

Her nomination was made by Tiffany Zirkle, a nurse preceptor—or mentor—of Hernadez-Patrevito’s at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee.

“From the first day I met the students, Dani stood out to me,” Zirkle said. “Her passion for health care and her motivation to learn was impressive. One day, she had a challenging assignment [I think she might have asked for a challenge ;)]. Her patient had a recent history of aggression, many medications, and difficulty following directions. I expected that any student would be nervous and awkward. Dani was not! I said, ‘I’ll go with you.’ She approached the patient with confidence, compassion, understanding, and patience. He took his medication with some encouragement from Dani and was cooperative with her all day BECAUSE of her great character. I told my boss that day to remember her name because she is already an amazing nurse! This is only one of the times that her actions stood out; there were many more.”

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 adviser 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.