San Juan Regional Health

From left: Alicia McGee, Jason Aikele, Felicia McNeal, Warren Begay

San Juan Regional Medical Center is proud to honor four exceptional caregivers with DAISY® and BEE awards. The DAISY award is an international recognition for extraordinary nurses and the BEE award is its companion for healthcare professionals who are Being Exceptional Every day. 

DAISY® Honorees

Alicia McGee is an ICU nurse who is a repeat Daisy award winner. She was nominated by the family of a patient who had suddenly fallen ill and passed away a few days later. During the patient’s time in the ICU, the family was grateful for the way Alicia treated their father with dignity and cared for him with the compassionate sensitivity he deserved. “He remained a person to her the entire time, never losing validity as an individual who meant something to somebody,” the family said in their nomination. “Thank You Alicia. Your compassion, effort, and integrity, mean everything.”

Jason Aikele is a nurse in the Cardiac Cath Lab who is also a repeat Daisy award winner. He was nominated by two of his nursing peers for the way he goes above and beyond not only for his patients, but also his coworkers. Jason was working with a nurse on the Medical Unit after her patient had a procedure in the Cath Lab. This patient was from another country, and didn’t have insurance coverage for the medication she needed to take during the rest of her stay in the U.S. Jason was able to help get a month-long sample of an approved medication for the patient. “He genuinely made my job easier that day and was able to seriously decrease future risk to the patient by getting her the appropriate blood thinner before discharge,” nurse Jessica Scott said in her nomination. “Jason is a pretty great teammate and definitely cares about patients, even the ones who aren’t his.” Another nurse called Jason “the definition of a team player” for the way he’s always willing to work anywhere he’s needed. “Nurses like Jason do not come around often. He's exceptional not only because of what he does, but because of who he is,” nurse Phuc Trinh Duong said in her nomination.

BEE Honorees

Felicia McNeal, aka Fish, is a critical care tech in the ICU who is being recognized as a BEE award winner for providing care and compassion daily to patients and their families during times of high anxiety and uncertainty. “There is not just one story of how Fish has helped patients,” said Dr. David Devitre in his nomination. “During difficult situations, Fish is there to provide equipment, call for backup or resources and console families. Fish is a valuable resource to the ICU, and her dedication to patients and staff is a big reason many lives are saved.” 

Warren Begay is an EMT/tech in the Emergency Department and new BEE award winner. He was nominated by a patient’s mother when her child was rushed to the hospital after swallowing a quarter. Warren was the first caregiver to interact with the family. He immediately made the child feel comfortable and calm, telling her the wheelchair she needed to sit in was a princess chair and making a game out of it. “When she no longer got to sit in the wheelchair she was disappointed because she was no longer going to be pushed around like a princess,” the patient’s mother said in the nomination. “He made the whole process smooth. What could have been a miserable experience was one of the best experiences we could have had.” 

Nominating a caregiver for a DAISY or BEE Award is simple and so meaningful. We have nomination forms on our website and invite our community to recognize a caregiver who has made an impact. 

DAISY: https://www.sanjuanregional.com/formbuilder/forms.aspx?formid=91863&sid=1

BEE: https://www.sanjuanregional.com/bee-award