JOPLIN, Mo. — Friday marked a very special milestone for several nurses at Freeman Health System.

Seventy-nine nurses were honored for their genuine compassion and professionalism. Every month, nominations from patients and their loved ones are sent in – to truly thank a nurse who went above and beyond.

Freeman Health System has been recognizing nurses this way since 2016. The hospital held a ceremony to showcase every nurse who was nominated and awarded during 2022.

“Of all the nominations that we had, it was more than all of the other years combined of nominations that we had. So, we put a lot of effort into marketing to let our patients know that Daisy was an option for them, and the nominations started rolling in,” said Jeanee Kennedy, Chief Nursing Officer.

“I’ve had the opportunity to probably interact with over five or 6,000 patients and family members going through one of the most difficult times of their lives. I never want to take that for granted and recognize that each interaction is very meaningful,” said Megan Spiering, nurse practitioner.

Each nurses’ hand-written nominations were read out loud.