Bryant Watson, RN Honored With DAISY Award

Progressive Care nurse nominated for calming presence

Words can be an enormously powerful part of the healing process, sometimes making all the difference for a patient. That’s a big part of what motivates CVPH’s 8^th DAISY Award Winner Bryant Watson.

“The most rewarding part of my job is getting to help people,” Watson said. “I want my patients to understand what is going on and do my best to lessen their anxiety. I try to let them know that as frustrating as it can be to be stuck in the hospital, it is a process, and we will always do our best to get them well and home again back to everyday life.”

The 38-year-old Dannemora registered nurse’s effort certainly caught the attention of former patient Ed Shine, who nominated Watson for the honor. Shine was struggling with high blood pressure during his stay in the hospital and was becoming very concerned. He noted that Watson calmly told him that each blood pressure reading was “a snap shot in time and not the end of the story.”

Watson, who has been in Progressive Care since graduating from Clinton Community College in 2015 with a nursing degree, worked to instill confidence by explaining how the stress Shine’s body was going through was leading to the soaring blood pressure readings, but that they would go back to normal.

As a believer of Messianic Judaism, Shine has also relied on his faith to carry him through difficult times. Here, too, Watson did all he could to help comfort his patient by searching the hospital high and low for a Bible that Shine requested. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one available. But, Shine still praised his nurse for going above and beyond the call of duty, saying he tipped his hat “to this caliber of a person.”

Knowing that Shine was able to return home to his wife is the kind of thing that pushes Watson to give each patient his very best.

“Seeing someone’s face when they get better and get to go home means I’m doing my job properly.”

Colleagues say Watson sets a great example for the team to follow.

“Bryant is a reliable co-worker and wonderful with patients and family members,” Leah Poissant, RN offered. “He’s calm and collected, and his demeanor puts patients and staff at ease. Our staff and patients appreciate him, and he is a great asset to our hospital and community.”

Watson, a family man who kicks back by spending time with his kids, hitting the water on a boat with his mother and sister, and playing video games, is also considered a tremendous resource for new nursing staff.

“Bryant is one of the first to offer assistance to our new nurses, and his calm demeanor makes them feel comfortable going to him with questions and seeking advice,” CVPH Director of Progressive Care Cathy Patnode said. “Bryant being nominated by a family shows his dedication to our patients and to his profession. We are extremely proud that he was nominated and chosen as a DAISY honoree.”

During a recognition celebration on R4, Watson was presented with a certificate commending him as an extraordinary nurse. He, 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.

CVPH launched the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in 2018 as a way 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 on the CVPH website. 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 http://DAISYfoundation.org.