Dalton, Ga. (February 6, 2026) – Randy Clark, a nurse in Hamilton Medical Center’s (HMC) Emergency Department, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The DAISY Award recognizes exemplary nursing excellence and is the highest honor a nurse can receive at HMC.
Clark was nominated for the award based on his kindness, gentleness, thoroughness, compassion, exceptional care and his commitment to listening.
The award, presented in collaboration with The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
DAISY Award recipients receive an honorary DAISY pin, a banner to display on their unit, an award certificate, and the Healer’s Touch, a hand-carved sculpture by the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. The sculpture is especially meaningful because of the profound respect the Shona tribe gives to their traditional “healers.” A Shona healer is affectionately regarded as a treasure by those they are caring for which describes exactly how the DAISY Foundation and HMC feel about nurses.
Ninety-three other nurses were also nominated for the award. They include: Karah Thompson, Summer Wilson, Carolina Gomez, Karen Nunez, Emma Wheeler, Sharon Sanchez Alvarado, Madison Day, Amy Levi, Vanessa Alejo, Alise Carter, Jessica Huff, Meghan Collins, Kay Wong, Allen Thornton, Ashton Henson, Allison Ormes, Jordan Fortenberry, Danny Canales, Ceilidh Benson, Haleigh Parker, Jackson Prater, Jim Duvall, Karina Rodriguez Segura, Nina Smith, Cara Gunter, Nikki Taylor, Erica Green, Cassidy Judd, Leticia Mata, Sherry Arp, Arilla Newman, Megan Bethune, Abigail Johnston, Erica Quinonez, Anna Grace Blanchard, Cass McAllister, Brandy Southerland, Candace Ketchum, Bridget Pruitt, Jennifer Waldrop, Amanda Davis, Regina Hocking, Greg Oberschmidt, Donetha Puckett, Sarah Stokes, Cody McKinney, Lilian Ngundi, Stephanie Bergeron, Anna Fleming, Emily Allen, Angela Brown, Jason Yarber, Jisha Roberts, Jose Brillo, Jaime Simulis, Daile Vance, Uriel Carrillo, Lisa Gibbs, Julianna Henson, Rhonda Townsend, Ashlee Ingle, Amy Neighbors, Amanda Cargal, Elvira Hernandez Moya, Diadem Monana, Diana Ramos, Isela Rios, Susan Meals, Kristi Cottrell, Sara Taylor, Chris Satterfield, Kimberley Mendez, Blake Dean, Sandy Killen, Emily Everett, Corbin Blankenship, Tori Payne, Kim Ledford, Donna Ivy, Zach Henson, Sarah Perez, Rochelle Juba, Kim Abernathy, Hannah McCurdy, Allison Roberts, Michelle Regal, Makayla Hall, Beth Bivens, Cheryl Baird, Roseanne Page, Lindsey Croy, Breanna Ellis and Melinda Zychal. The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes 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.
