LEWISTON — Central Maine Medical Center recently awarded two nurses, Jacqueline Schmitz and Kara Shufeldt with the DAISY Award. It’s an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary, compassionate and skillful care given by nurses every day.

Among the determining factors for both Schmitz and Shufeldt was the praise they received from former patients and patients’ family members about the exceptional, personalized care they received while at Central Maine Medical Center.

“It is so great to see these two outstanding nurses receive the recognition they deserve,” said Kris Chaisson, vice president of nursing and patient care services.

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died of complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura at the age of 33. During Barnes’ eight-week hospitalization, his family deeply appreciated the care and compassion his nurses provided to him and the entire family. In Barnes’ honor, they created the DAISY Foundation to publicly recognize nurses everywhere by saying “thank you” to those who make an enormous difference in the lives of so many people by the extraordinary work they do.

Nurse Kara Shufeldt received the DAISY award from CMMC.

Nurse Jacqueline Schmitz received the DAISY award from CMMC.