Daisy Honoree Tarek Koussaifi

MUSC Health Florence Division has announced its fourth-quarter DAISY honoree.

Tarek Koussaifi, a registered nurse on the 5th floor at MUSC Health Florence Medical Center is named the fourth-quarter DAISY Award recipient of 2021.

The DAISY award is given to a nurse whose job performance exemplifies the mission, vision and values of MUSC Health. The recipient must also keep a consistent focus on meeting patient-family goals, collaborate with the healthcare team to meet patients’ needs, use critical thinking to deliver extraordinary patient care, and demonstrate a caring attitude, as well as professionalism in the workplace during all situations, according to a hospital announcement.

Koussaifi was nominated by a patient’s family member who wrote, “Tarek was my mom‘s nurse three of the five days she was in the hospital. My mom was brought into the emergency room by ambulance and the family was scared, so much so that I drove seven hours from West Virginia to be by her side. During the time Tarek took care of my mom, the compassion and patience he showed her, and the rest of the family was extraordinary. Our family is strong-willed and very inquisitive. Tarek answered whatever questions he could but had a way of making us feel better about the questions he could not answer. All while providing extraordinary care.

During my mother’s hospital stay, she had two blood transfusions and was in a lot of pain. I was with her day and night the entire time doing all I could but felt helpless. Tarek recognized this and was able to say the right things to make me feel better and to know that just being there was helping her. I could see that Tarek was always busy and seemed never to take a break, but he was always there whenever we needed him.

If I had to describe him using just a few words, they would be compassionate, patient, kind, dedicated, reliable, hard-working, and honest. He made my mom feel like he was taking care of her, just as if he were taking care of his own mother. When I spoke to others in the hospital, we all agreed that he made each of his patients feel like they were his only patient, which meant a lot. Tarek deserves this award and more. He is truly a treasure, and MUSC (Florence) should feel honored to have him working there.”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. The hospital announcement said that “Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.”

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues. Recipients of the DAISY Award are chosen quarterly by the DAISY committees at MUSC Health Florence Medical Center and MUSC Health Marion Medical Center.