ROME, Ga., March 7, 2023 – A smile and a kind word can go a long way. Just ask Grayson Moss, an ICU nurse at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. The registered nurse's demeanor meant a lot a woman who was at the hospital during her aunt's final days.
"It's never easy to lose a family member," the woman wrote in a form nominating Moss for a DAISY Award. “This is my first time having to go through seeing someone decline and giving permission to unhook machines. This nurse will never know how much his kindness meant."
Moss received the award Tuesday during a ceremony at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center.
“His pop-ins, answers questions in gentle, kind ways…. I'm a wreck as I write this and I know in just a few minutes he will pop in and check on my family member and me. …. I'm pretty quiet and reserved and he instantly saw both my aunt's and my needs. I won't forget how much easier he made this. I truly have no words that can show just how much he helped and cared. Thank you."
The DAISY Award is an international program that recognizes bedside nurses for the exceptional care they provide patients. The family of Patrick Barnes established the award after he died from an auto-immune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital.
Moss was presented with a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer's Touch." The DAISY sculptures are hand-carved for the DAISY Foundation by members of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The nurse and his teammates were also treated with cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Patrick Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.
Moss started working at Atrium Health Floyd as a nurse technician while he was in nursing school. He completed nursing school last May and started in ICU in late 2022.
“It's something I really always wanted to do," Moss said about going into the medical field. “I've felt a calling toward helping others. That has always given me the most joy. A lot of times, especially where we work (in the ICU), you do not see the best of outcomes. That is why I always try to walk in with a smile on my face and affect someone in a positive way."