Perkins was selected as a Daisy Award recipient based on nominations from her peers. One of the nominations read, “Pernisa is a team player, resource nurse, and phenomenal leader. She goes above and beyond for her patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and often maintains close relationships with the parents. As a charge nurse, she treats us all with professionalism, respect and kindness.
Perkins was presented with a certificate commending her for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” She also received a Healer’s Touch sculpture, hand carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa. The sculpture represents the respect the Shona people give their traditional healers.
“This really means the world to me,” said Perkins. “I take pride in my job and try to treat everyone as if they are my family. I work hard but never expected anything in return. That’s just what we do as nurses.”
The DAISY Award, an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, is a national program that began in 2001 by the DAISY Foundation in Glen Ellen, California. The DAISY Foundation was started by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a bleeding condition in which the blood doesn’t clot properly. Deeply touched by the compassionate care Patrick received from his nurses, the Barnes family created the national DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to recognize the incredible work that nurses do every day.
