East Georgia Regional Medical Center announced Wednesday that Chief Nursing Officer Marie Burdett, MSN, RN, CHSA, was awarded the prestigious DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating her 35+ year nursing career.
This milestone honor, the first of its kind presented at EGRMC, was delivered by CEO Stephen Pennington, who expressed deep appreciation for Burdett’s legacy.
“It was an honor to be part of this moment,” he said. “Recognizing Marie for the extraordinary contributions she has made throughout her career was a great experience, the first DAISY lifetime achievement award I have ever given in my career.”
Burdett has served as chief nursing officer at East Georgia since 2016. During her tenure, she has led the organization to improvements in patient care and staff retention, including:
• Reducing nurse turnover from 31% to 14%
• Earning a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade “A”
• Improving the hospital’s CMS Star Rating
• Leading the hospital to certification as an Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and a Primary Stroke Center
In addition to leading all nursing departments, Burdett also oversees Rehabilitation Services, Wound Care and Cardiopulmonary and Sleep Medicine.
Shannon Farlow, director of Med-Surg and Telemetry, emphasized Burdett’s far-reaching impact.
“Marie doesn’t just lead from the top, she leads from within,” Farlow said. “Her presence is felt in every unit, and her commitment to excellence has shaped not only our nursing departments but also the supporting teams of rehab and cardiopulmonary. She sets high standards, but she lifts you up to meet them. This award couldn’t go to a more deserving leader.”
Burdett’s colleagues shared how they admire not only her professional accomplishments, but also her compassion and dedication to mentoring the next generation of nurse leaders.
Cheri Wagner, director of the Emergency Department, said:
“Marie is the kind of leader who never stops investing in others,” she said. “She believes in you even when you’re still learning to believe in yourself. Her mentorship has pushed so many of us to grow not only within our departments, but in our own personal leadership journeys. She models what it means to lead with integrity, vision and heart.”
Since joining EGRMC, Burdett has supported a culture of recognition by bringing the DAISY program to the hospital in 2017. Since then, 35 bedside nurses and 4 nurse leaders have been honored through the program.
“It is such a huge honor to be recognized for the work that I have done over my career. I’m actually speechless, but it makes me very happy and gives me a sense of pride to see nurses at the bedside become experts in the care they provide or advance in their career, and to know that I had some positive influence over them,” she said.
Also, Burdett has also been honored for two consecutive years by Becker’s Healthcare as one of its “CNOs to Know,” a national recognition for nurse executives who demonstrate visionary leadership, tackle staffing challenges and champion professional development.
About the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award:
Presented by The DAISY Foundation, the award “honors nurses whose careers have left a lasting legacy on the profession. Honorees are recognized for promoting a positive image of nursing, mentoring others and significantly advancing patient care and the standards of nursing practice.”