DAISY Award recognition
Meet MCHD’s
DAISY Honorees
Read the stories of MCHD nurses recognized for compassion, clinical excellence, and care that made a lasting difference.
Recognizing extraordinary care
Extraordinary Care Deserves to be Remembered
Every DAISY Award honoree has a story behind the recognition. These nominations come directly from patients, families, and colleagues who experienced compassionate care during meaningful moments in their lives.
Each story reflects the values that guide nursing at Martin County Hospital District, including kindness, clinical excellence, respect, advocacy, and genuine human connection. We are proud to recognize the nurses whose actions continue to make a lasting difference for the people and communities we serve.
May 2025 DAISY Award honoree
Keelee Stanislaus
Extraordinary care, beautifully human.
Keelee’s compassion, creativity, and attentiveness reflect the heart of the DAISY Award and the kind of nursing care that leaves a lasting impact.
From the nomination
During her patient’s stay at MCHD, Keelee provided attentive care for both his medical needs and his daily comfort. She also took time to learn about the life he missed outside the hospital and the things that mattered most to him.
Through their conversations, Keelee learned that he loved hunting. She told him she had an idea and would return the following day with a surprise.
Keelee arranged for two Nerf guns to be brought to the hospital so the patient and a nurse’s aide could safely shoot foam darts back and forth in the hallway. The unexpected activity helped him laugh, engage with the people around him, and briefly take his mind away from the pain of a broken hip.
The moment was especially meaningful because the patient was also coping with the emotional and physical effects of a traumatic brain injury sustained in 2023. The injury had affected his mobility and prevented him from enjoying many parts of the life he once knew.
His family recognized Keelee not only for her clinical knowledge, but also for seeing the person beyond the diagnosis. Her thoughtful idea brought familiarity, happiness, and a sense of normalcy into a difficult hospital stay.
December 2025 DAISY Award honoree
Tanya Fortner
Thoughtful care that brought clarity and confidence.
Tanya’s patience, organization, and commitment to patient safety reflect the compassion and clinical excellence honored through the DAISY Award.
From the nomination
Tanya cared for a patient whose medications had become difficult to understand and manage. The patient and his family were faced with a confusing collection of prescriptions, instructions, and medication bottles without a clear system for keeping everything organized.
Recognizing the risk and frustration this created, Tanya took time to carefully review the medications. She sorted the bottles, identified what each medication was for, and helped organize the information in a way the patient and his family could understand.
She labeled and documented the medications with patience, answering questions and making sure the family felt confident about what needed to be taken and when.
Tanya’s work provided more than a tidy medication list. It gave the patient and his family a safer, clearer way to manage his health after leaving the hospital.
Her nomination recognized the time she invested, the concern she showed, and her willingness to address a need that could easily have been overlooked. Tanya helped turn confusion into understanding and gave the family greater confidence moving forward.
Celebrate extraordinary nursing
Know a Nurse Who Deserves Recognition?
Every DAISY Award begins with someone taking a moment to share a story. If an MCHD nurse made a meaningful difference during your care or the care of someone you love, we invite you to submit a nomination.