Sixteen years ago, Leila Moore walked into the newly opened River Region Medical Center as a nurse on the hospital’s fifth floor.

Friday, her compassion and skill as a nurse in the area called “med surge” were honored with the hospital’s second Daisy Award, which honors excellence in nursing. She was selected for the quarterly award from 16 nurses nominated by patients. Moore is the second recipient of the award. Robyn Stamps, who also works on the fifth floor, received the first Daisy award in February.

“I am just overwhelmed,” she said of winning the award. “I’m so happy. I’m honored to get this award. I was really surprised.”

A native of Vicksburg, Moore has been a nurse for 29 years. Initially, she said, she wanted to be a veterinarian, “But I got into nursing out of high school and I love it. It was my cup of tea.”

Working on the fifth floor, she said, “Is challenging, very busy, but I work with a lot of wonderful, wonderful nurses, and we all stick together and make things happen and try to do the best we can.”

A letter submitted by the wife of a patient Moore cared for called her “an angel of God sent from Heaven. She was gentle, soft-spoken and handled him as if he were her own. She really loves what she’s doing and spoke softly to her patients and never lost patience with him.

“I have never seen anyone like her. She would indeed be a terrific teacher for young people who want to become doctors, nurses or caregivers.”

Known by its full name, The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses, it is aimed at honoring nurses for their skill and compassion when dealing with patients and their families and helping nurses see in themselves what their patients, families and colleagues see in them.

The award was developed by the family of Patrick Barnes, who contracted and died from the auto-immune disease, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, or ITP. His family was impressed by the skill, caring and compassion his nurses gave him that they founded the DAISY Foundation and the award. DAISY stands for “diseases attacking the immune system.”