Lower Keys Medical Center Announces DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses Recipients

5/8/2025

Lower Keys Medical Center hosted a reception during Nurses Week, honoring the intensive care unit team members and April Bruggemann, R.N., quality, with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award recognizes nursing professionals for excellence in clinical care and for exceptional compassion.

The nurses were nominated and selected for the award for creating a personalized environment of care for a patient. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit through the emergency department, having traveled to Key West to fulfill his dream of seeing the beautiful waters of the Keys. During report to the ICU, the ER staff shared his wishes. Taking this to heart, the ICU team fulfilled the patient’s desire, moving his hospital bed every day to a window with a water view, while also helping him get stronger. Quality Coordinator April Bruggemann also saw the patient’s wishes written in progress notes and coordinated with the ICU to have a water view painting hung in his room during his stay.

Lower Keys Medical Center chief executive officer Drew Bigby said, “The DAISY Award recipients are skilled nursing professionals and, beyond that, are deeply caring and kind individuals.”

The award recipients were presented with hand-carved Healer’s Touch sculptures, DAISY certificates and signature bouquets of daisies. Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez presented a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Week during the reception.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 from complications of an autoimmune disease. His family was inspired to create the Foundation to honor nurses who make a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.

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