Dalton, Ga. (May 15, 2026) – Lindsey Burgess, RN, a nurse in Hamilton Medical Center’s (HMC) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), 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.
Burgess was nominated for the award based on her compassionate, caring, loving, advocating, reassuring, protective and comforting character, as well as her commitment to communication.
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.
Eighty other nurses were also nominated for the award. They include: Michael Obear, Jennifer Patrick, Shelly Stroud, Emma Wheeler, Devan Cochran, Haleigh Parker, Alex Pangle, Ceilidh Benson, Stephanie Gravitt, Karen Nunez, Brooke Alvarez, Patrick Simmons, Doug Wilson, Elan Watson, Madi Day, Jamee Lawyer, Alise Carter, Carolina Gomez, Lauren Stafford, Kayla Rewis, Brittany Coffey, Katrina Longest, Megan Bethune, Christie Brewer, Leticia Mata, Sherry Arp, Nikki Taylor, Crystal Ward, Cassidy Judd, Alicia Melendrez, Karsen Hooper, Payton Castillo, Karina Smith, Johnathan Rendon, Rachael Johnson, Elizabeth Bennett, Jacob Whitener, Tabitha Tinsley, Hope Jones, Kim Ledford, Nicole Queen-Garner, Emily Sardina, Erika Paez, Yazmin Jacobo, Angela Lopez, Jessica Allen, Dulce Lopez Hernandez, Daile Vance, Kallie Carter, Erika Alvarez, Rose Ann Tan, Abigail Cooper, Anna Klinehoffer, Michelle Talley, Ruby Martinez, Justin Bailey, Stephanie Bergeron, Emily Allen, Amanda Arnold, Maria Nunez, Valencia Mcbayne, Savannah Welch, Anissa Sosebee, Amanda Cargal, Ella Lance, Jim Sanders, Diana Ramos, Cesar Lee, Ashley Barmore, Lauren Fleming, Julianna Henson, Crizel Gabay, Amy Neighbors, Alejandra Chavez, Ana Fuentes, Cindy Breeden, Coral Botello, Angel Keener, Daisy Huijon and Summer Wilson.
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.