The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide patients and families every day.

Halifax Regional teamed up with the DAISY Foundation at the end of 2017 to bring this international award to Halifax Regional.

Henry was nominated as this quarter’s award recipient by the family of a patient after he went above and beyond to extend exceptional care during the family’s time of need.

“He was very compassionate and understanding,” the nomination described. “He was thorough with every ounce of information that he needed to deliver to help us make the correct decision towards our loved one’s medical needs.”

The foundation’s website says in January, a very sick family member was a patient in ICU.

She ended up having to be intubated due to her condition and never awoke from sedation.

The nomination reads, “We decided to remove her from the vent at this time. On this day, Henry was her nurse in ICU, as he had been for a couple of days prior.

“I can't express the empathy he had towards our family during this difficult time … He was also an excellent teacher to a student he had at the time. He made sure the family was comfortable with the student present and very thorough with the student. In the medical profession myself, I was able to distinguish the amount of education and passion he had as a nurse sitting back and observing him teaching the student throughout the day.”

Nurses may be nominated by patients or families and award recipients are chosen by a committee at the medical center on a quarterly basis.

Each honoree receives a certificate, a special celebration, a keepsake pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch.

“We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program,” said Karen Daniels, VP of Nursing. “Nurses are heroes every day and it’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued. The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.

Patrick died from complications of an uncommon autoimmune disease.

The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.