Healthcare is a calling and one that comes with many challenges, especially for our nurses and clinical teams. It’s crucial to find those moments to celebrate exceptional care and honor hard work.
Thomas A. Dee, FACHESouthwestern Vermont Medical Center’s (SVMC) CEO and president Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, was honored last week for his support of nurses and nursing recognition.
Dee, who retires from SVMC, a member of Dartmouth Health, in January, was named an Extraordinary DAISY Champion. The honor was bestowed on Dee from the DAISY Foundation, which is an international organization that recognizes exceptional nurses and leaders who support compassionate nursing.
The recognition came with a special video message from Bonnie Barnes, co-founder of the DAISY Foundation.
“In 26 years of DAISY, you are the first hospital CEO to be named a DAISY Champion,” Barnes said in her message to Dee. “Your support of your nurses is clearly demonstrated through your commitment to Magnet Excellence, and that speaks volumes to your deep appreciation to your nurses’ value and vital contribution to the community. You are indeed a DAISY Champion.”
SVMC’s Pamela Duchene, PhD, APRN, chief nursing and quality officer and vice president of Patient Care Services, presented Dee with the award, thanking him for creating an environment that values nursing recognition.
“Under Tom’s leadership, we have enhanced and embraced nursing excellence and recognition for the great work our nurses do, every day,” said Duchene. “When we present our DAISY Awards, Tom has also made it a top priority to be present and part of those celebrations.”
Dee is retiring in mid-January after more than 16 years leading SVMC.
“Healthcare is a calling and one that comes with many challenges, especially for our nurses and clinical teams,” said Dee. “It’s crucial to find those moments to celebrate exceptional care and honor hard work. I’m grateful to have played a role in amplifying the incredible work that happens at SVMC.”
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.