Kelsey Correll, a registered nurse in the cardiac stepdown unit at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, knows that no one wants to be in the hospital during the holidays. So, when a patient in her 90s found herself there, Correll did her best to offer comfort any way she could.

She gave the woman a Christmas card, not knowing how much it would mean to the patient and her family.

The patient was later moved to ICU, where she passed away on Christmas Day. Her son said he forgot to get the card when his mother was moved. He found Correll and asked if he could have it. He said his mother cherished Christmas cards and had collected a box of them over the years.

One year, Correll bought cards for every patient on her floor on Christmas Day.

“I feel like the nurse was called to do this,” said Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Atrium Health Floyd. “The son came and approached the nurse and asked for the card, so she made a difference. She made a difference that day in that patient’s life.”

“Any little thing we can do to make it a little bit easier for patients is important, and we know nobody wants to spend their holidays with us,” Correll said. She was named a DAISY Award recipient Wednesday because of her compassion.

The family of Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Foundation after Barnes died from an autoimmune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital.

Bennett presented Correll with a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer’s Touch.” Members of the Shona ethnic group in Zimbabwe hand-carve the sculptures.

The nurse and her teammates were also treated with cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.

If you know an Atrium Health Floyd nurse who provided exceptional care to you or a loved one, you can nominate them for a DAISY award by visiting floyd.org/DAISY and completing the online form.

Correll has been with Atrium Health Floyd for 10 years. She graduated from the University of West Georgia and Cedartown High School.