Presenting Timothy Harris (center) with NMMC’s DAISY Award are Donna Pritchard, chief nursing executive, and Kathy Richards, senior director of nursing for Emergency Services.

TUPELO, Miss.—North Mississippi Medical Center presented its most recent DAISY Award to registered nurse Timothy Harris of the Emergency Department.

In January, Harris was nominated by the daughter of an elderly patient who was very weak because of blood loss and COVID-19. Her daughter was unable to stay with her initially because of COVID-19 visitation restrictions. The daughter says that often once medical personnel realize her mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, they tend not to communicate directly with her—even though she is still very aware and able to communicate.

Once her mother was assigned to an exam room in the ER and she was able to join her, her daughter says she was pleasantly surprised. “From the minute I walked in that room and watched the interaction between Mr. Harris and my mother, it made my heart overflow,” she wrote. “Mom needed a blood transfusion, she was weak and she was scared. Not only did (Mr. Harris) talk to her, he was insightful enough to see that she was scared and confused, and he comforted her.”

The daughter wrote that not only was Harris “amazing” to her mother, but also to her. “He explained to me step by step what was taking place,” she wrote. “Now keep in mind, we were not his only patients that night, and he along with other ER staff were wide open tending to folks, but he sure made us feel like we were the only ones.”

Because the hospital was full at the time, they were given the choice of being transferred to a hospital closer to home or being admitted to the Emergency Department until an inpatient room became available. They chose to stay in the Emergency Department with Harris as her nurse because, “Without a doubt, I knew we were where we needed to be and we were getting the best care,” the daughter wrote.

Since recovering, the patient’s daughter says her mother has told family members about Harris. “She remembers – isn’t that something?” she wrote. “It mattered to her that kindness, that costs nothing, it mattered.”

Harris resides in Iuka. He graduated from Hardin County High School in Savannah, Tennessee, and earned his associate degree in nursing from Itawamba Community College in May 2020. He joined the NMMC staff that June.           

Harris received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, a bouquet donated by Bishop’s Flower Shop and a hand-carved stone sculpture titled A Healer’s Touch. The DAISY Award is an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary compassionate and skillful care given by nurses every day. For more information, call (662) 377-3431 or email daisyawards@nmhs.net.