Tassell was nominated by a patient, who described her as compassionate and positive.

“Trinity always had a smile on her face and was positive even when I wasn’t feeling so well,” the patient said. “She made me feel like I was important to her – even though we had just met, Before she ended her shift, Trinity asked me if she could hug me because she thought I needed one, and she was so right. I needed the hug more than she had known.”

Tassell was honored during a celebration with her family and team members. She received a certificate, pin and sculpture.

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed in January 2000 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at age 33 from complications of an auto-immune disease. His family wanted to say, thank you to nurses everywhere by establishing a recognition program — The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses — to “honor the super-human work nurses do every day at the bedside.”

The DAISY Award is a merit-based award that honors clinical skill, leadership, strong patient care and compassion.