Jessica Coutu, R.N., honored as DAISY Award Recipient at UF Health Flagler Hospital

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Jessica Coutu, R.N., has been recognized as the UF Health St. Johns DAISY Award recipient for Q4 of 2024. The DAISY Award is an international program that celebrates the kindness and care nurses give each day by paying tribute to one nurse who provided exemplary care for a patient in the months leading up to the ceremony.

Coutu is a nurse in the Renal Care Unit and has been with UF Health Flagler Hospital for 7 years. When nominating Coutu, one patient — who was admitted after coming to the ER for serious stomach issues — wrote that she never once had to call for anything during her hospital stay. “She was proactive, timely, and precise in all of her duties with administering all my medications. She is very attentive and funny. She made me feel comfortable during a very uncomfortable time.”

Coutu received additional accolades from another patient, who felt compelled by the nurse’s compassion to write a second nomination for her to receive a DAISY award. “The love and care that she showed me was priceless,” the patient wrote. “She listens to her patients. She didn’t mind, when she had some free time, to come talk and lift my spirits. She picked up on me feeling down and depressed. The compassion and care in her conversation for three days lifted my soul.”

In recognition of this honor, Coutu received a stone-carved “Healer’s Touch” trophy, a DAISY winner’s pin, a gift basket, and a $200 bonus. But it’s gaining the confidence of her patients that means the most to this nurse.

“I often pick up on needs that aren’t necessarily medical. It’s just as important to me to also tend to my patient’s emotional needs and deliver wholistic care,” explained Coutu. “I try to help put a smile on their face to help them get through the difficult moment they’re going through.”

“Jessica is a devoted nurse in so many ways. Renal care requires timely and accurate delivery of medications, which she is always on top of, but her kind spirit is just as healing to her patients. We are proud to have her on our team,” says Michelle Paulo, R.N., interim vice president of nursing at UF Health St. Johns.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in California, was established by J. Mark Barnes and his family in memory of his son J. Patrick Barnes. J. Patrick died in 1999 of complications from an autoimmune disease. The nursing care Patrick and his family received inspired them to thank nurses for the profound difference they make in patients’ lives.