Michelle Babbie, RN Receives DAISY Award

MALONE, NY - Mary Tashjian heard the devastating news about her Uncle Tom and rushed to the hospital. Thomas Garland was unresponsive as he arrived at the Emergency Department (ED) by ambulance at The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center. Tashjian and other family members were told he wasn’t going to make it. 

Michelle Babbie, RN, who was working in the ED that night, learned about the situation and immediately took steps to ensure Garland and his loved ones could have the peace and privacy they needed in those heartbreaking moments. That is why Tashjian nominated Babbie for The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, and Babbie was presented the honor during a surprise ceremony with her colleagues this week. 

Knowing how busy the ED was, Babbie wanted to take her patient and his family somewhere quiet and comfortable. She secured permission to move them to the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU), which was not in use at the time. This gave the patient and loved ones a peaceful setting to say their goodbyes to Uncle Tom. 

"Michelle went above and beyond in giving the family a private place to gather and comfort each other while Uncle Tom passed. She gave compassionate care to Tom, her patient, and the many family members that were there," Tashjian writes in her nomination of Babbie. 

The care was especially meaningful for the family, which has a deep connection to Alice Hyde. Garland’s wife, Hallie, is retired after working many different areas in the hospital, including the ASU. And his granddaughter, Giselle Croteau, worked in maternity at Alice Hyde. 

"She took care of one of our own, and it meant the world to the family members," Tashjian adds. 

During the award presentation, Babbie was presented with a certificate commending her as an extraordinary nurse. She, like all honorees, also received a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. 

Alice Hyde launched the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in 2022 to recognize and reward licensed nurses for making a meaningful difference in the lives of their patients. Nomination forms and boxes are located at each of the hospital’s main entrances and online at UVMHealth.org/AHMCDaisy. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues.  A committee reviews nominations and awards a deserving nurse each quarter.  

The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation is a national 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 this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. More information is available at DAISYfoundation.org.