SVHC Announces DAISY Award Winner

BENNINGTON, VT—May 5, 2022—Kathleen Cloud, RN, of the Emergency Department (ED), was the April recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

“What patients notice most about Kat is her professional and caring manner. She knows how to make room, even during a very busy shift, for what matters most,” said Pamela Duchene, PhD, APRN, SVHC’s chief nursing officer and vice president for Patient Care Services. “We are so grateful to have Kat working in our Emergency Department.”

Duchene gave the award during a surprise presentation in the Emergency Department at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) on the morning of April 11, 2022.

Cloud received two nominations from patients.

The first nominator wrote, “Kat has…, every time, displayed the utmost respect for me as a patient, a mother, a woman… and is just one of the nicest, [most] accurate, and caring nurses.”

The second nominator described her as “beyond professional… With everything that was going on in the ER, she kept her composure and went above and beyond for  other patients and myself… She was, for lack of a better word, incredible.”

On having received the award during the surprise ceremony, Cloud was “emotionally excited.” “It’s a bit deal to get the recognition.”  

Cloud holds an associate’s in nursing from Vermont Tech and is due to finish her bachelor’s in nursing at Castleton University within the next 3 months. She has worked as an RN at SVMC for 8 years, before which she worked as an ED tech and an Emergency Department support staff member.

The DAISY Award is part of a national merit-based recognition program established by the DAISY Foundation. It celebrates nurses’ education, training, and skill. Nominations can be submitted by patients, families, physicians, and colleagues. All nominations are blinded, so that they are anonymous before being reviewed by a selection committee. One nurse is then chosen as the DAISY Award winner. DAISY Awards are presented on a regular basis, usually bi-monthly or quarterly.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. It has also received the highest marks possible from the Leapfrog Group. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.