Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone (Provided photo — Evan Wheaton, Malone Telegram)

MALONE — As part of Health Care Week, Alice Hyde Medical Center has a new way for patients and families to recognize nurses for the care they provide.

The name of the award, DAISY, is an acronym for “Diseases Attacking the Immune System,” and is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the impact nurses have on patients, colleagues and the communities they serve, according to a prepared statement from Phillip Rau, a spokesperson for the Malone hospital.

“I see firsthand the work our nurses do, and I’m blown away by them every single day,” Rebecca Shutts, Alice Hyde’s chief nursing officer, said in a statement. “The DAISY award will help us recognize the great care they provide, the way they support our patients, their families and each other, and the positive impact they have on patients and families while they are under our care.”

Patients, families and colleagues can nominate nurses at any Alice Hyde Medical Center facility, according to Rau, including the hospital’s four off-campus health centers.

Nomination forms are available in each clinical office and can be mailed to Alice Hyde Medical Center at 133 Park St., Malone, NY 12953. A digital nomination form is available on the hospital’s website, www.alicehyde.com/Patients-and-Visitors/DAISY-Award.

“We are excited for this new opportunity to celebrate the expertise and compassion of our outstanding nurses, and look forward to reading the great stories that our patients, families and employees will share about our nursing team,” Shutts said.

The hospital plans to have a committee of both clinical and non-clinical colleagues present awards quarterly to nurses. Recipients will receive a certificate commending them as an “Extraordinary Nurse,” a DAISY award pin, and a hand-carved sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” created by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

The first DAISY award will be presented at Alice Hyde in August.

The nonprofit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 at the age of 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, an uncommon auto-immune disease.

The care Barnes and his family received from nurses inspired the family to create a way of thanking nurses for making a difference in the lives of patients and their families.