August 2026 Honoree
Karenine Chery, BSN, RN
It started with a 6-year-old girl brought into our ED by a security guard. Her parents were in a violent domestic altercation that involved knives. This little girl stepped in to protect her mom — grabbing hold of the knife and, in all the chaos, her stepdad accidentally sliced off her fingers.
As our team rushed to help her, all she could think about was her favorite Christmas pajamas from the Dollar Store. She begged us not to cut into them.
Shortly after the trauma interventions, we learned — through Karenine’s follow-up call — that mom was staying in a domestic violence shelter. She had escaped with nothing. No belongings, no home yet; she was waiting for her new housing to be treated for a pest infestation before she and her daughter could move in.
When Courtney, Karenine, and Ada heard this, they didn’t hesitate to organize a clothing and household goods drive so this mom could have a real fresh start — something to walk into her new home with, instead of nothing.
The ripple didn’t stop there. Courtney turned this tragedy into a Stop the Bleed training initiative for the entire ED. This was not just nurses and physicians, but EVS, registration, and security too. Everyone who might be the first hands on a bleeding patient now knows what to do.
That became the silver lining of this traumatic event: a little girl’s courage becoming the reason an entire department is safer, and a mother’s darkest moment being met with this team’s compassion.
Courtney, Karenine, and Ada didn’t just treat the patient; they saw a family, a mother rebuilding her life, and they responded with the kind of care that goes far beyond the bedside. This is exactly the spirit the DAISY Award was created to honor.
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This is Karenine's 2nd DAISY Award!
As our team rushed to help her, all she could think about was her favorite Christmas pajamas from the Dollar Store. She begged us not to cut into them.
Shortly after the trauma interventions, we learned — through Karenine’s follow-up call — that mom was staying in a domestic violence shelter. She had escaped with nothing. No belongings, no home yet; she was waiting for her new housing to be treated for a pest infestation before she and her daughter could move in.
When Courtney, Karenine, and Ada heard this, they didn’t hesitate to organize a clothing and household goods drive so this mom could have a real fresh start — something to walk into her new home with, instead of nothing.
The ripple didn’t stop there. Courtney turned this tragedy into a Stop the Bleed training initiative for the entire ED. This was not just nurses and physicians, but EVS, registration, and security too. Everyone who might be the first hands on a bleeding patient now knows what to do.
That became the silver lining of this traumatic event: a little girl’s courage becoming the reason an entire department is safer, and a mother’s darkest moment being met with this team’s compassion.
Courtney, Karenine, and Ada didn’t just treat the patient; they saw a family, a mother rebuilding her life, and they responded with the kind of care that goes far beyond the bedside. This is exactly the spirit the DAISY Award was created to honor.
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This is Karenine's 2nd DAISY Award!
Thank you, Karenine, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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