Preston is a registered nurse in CMMC’s Special Delivery Family Birthing Center.

Registered nurse Kate Preston has been recognized by Central Maine Medical Center as a DAISY Award recipient. The award is sponsored by the DAISY Foundation to honor nurses who in their work consistently demonstrate the attributes of a nursing profession role model. These include compassion, critical thinking, passion for life, patient- and family-focused care, patient advocacy, and support of fellow healthcare team members. Preston works in the Special Delivery Family Birthing Center, located on the third floor of the Chalke (formerly Memorial) Wing. She was nominated for the award by the family of a patient in her care.

“Kate was so very attentive to the needs of not only my daughter, but to her husband,” said the nomination account. “What stands out the most is that they used laughter when my daughter and son-in-law needed it, yet when compassion was needed, they flipped over and were quiet and attentive to my daughter’s needs. [She] is very much a patient advocate. She listened closely to what my daughter said and read her facial expressions for pain and discomfort. [She] was able to focus on many tasks at once and made the patient feel confident in her care.”

Preston, who was helping to orient a new nurse to the unit during the delivery, maintained a high standard of patient care along with her teaching. “Kate guided, taught, and mentored [the new nurse], all the while keeping the patient updated,” noted the patient’s family.

DAISY is an acronym for “diseases attacking the immune system.” The DAISY Award was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The award is to show gratitude to nurses and the nursing profession, who the Barnes Family believe are “unsung heroes.” The foundation also funds research for the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects.

Patients, visitors, physicians, and co-workers can nominate nurses who they feel deserve to be recognized with the DAISY Award.