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Three nurses in Austin and Owatonna received the DAISY Award, an international recognition that honors and celebrates the skillful and compassionate care nurses provide.

 To receive the DAISY Award, nurses who provide extraordinary care are nominated by patients, patient families or colleagues. For nurses working at locations across Mayo Clinic Health System in Southeast Minnesota, a selection committee reviews nominations and selects DAISY Award winners quarterly.

 The three nurses who received the DAISY Award are:

Alexa Jacobson

Jacobson is a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. She was nominated by a patient’s son who remembered how Jacobson provided compassionate care during his mother’s admission to the hospital and her eventual passing.  

Mandy Langer

Langer is a registered nurse for Medical Specialty services at Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna. She was nominated for the DAISY Award by a colleague who recognized Langer’s flexibility, providing care in multiple departments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her willingness to weather severe winter storms to provide patient care.

Tabatha Erlandson

Erlandson is a registered nurse in the Family Birth Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. Erlandson was nominated by a patient who remembered how attentive and understanding Erlandson was during a pregnancy complicated by COVID-19.

 All three nurses were presented the DAISY Award by Cheristi Cognetta-Rieke, D.N.P., chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic Health System in Southeast Minnesota, at surprise presentations.

 “Alexa, Tabatha and Mandy are incredibly deserving of the Daisy Award,” Cognetta-Rieke said. “Each of these women demonstrates selflessness and connection with their patients. They personify how nursing isn’t just a job, but a calling to serve others.”

 The DAISY Award was created in honor of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The nursing care he received when hospitalized profoundly touched his family. Learn more about the history of the DAISY Award.

 If you know extraordinary nurses working at a location across Mayo Clinic Health System in Southeast Minnesota, nominate them for the DAISY Award by completing the nomination form.