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 largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.