Alyssa Beardsley, a certified nursing assistant at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, is the newest recipient of the facility’s BEE Award.
The BEE Award stands for “Being Exceptional Every (Day)” and was adopted by the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in 2021. It is designed to be the DAISY Award counterpart for nursing assistants and health technicians; however, since its inception, the facility expanded the award to include health aides, medical instrument technicians, telehealth clinical technicians, and support personnel.
While the DAISY Award is for nurse practitioners, RNs and LPNs, the BEE Award goes hand-in-hand with it.
“The DAISY cannot survive without the BEE, and the BEE cannot survive without a DAISY,” noted Chandra Miller, associate director for patient care services, when presenting the award.
“I was very surprised and very shocked,” said Beardsley of the award. “It’s really cool, but I wasn’t expecting it.”
Beardsley has been a CNA at the Poplar Bluff facility for four years and has a passion for health care.
“I got into being a CNA because of family members being sick,” she explained. “My mom had been a nurse for 30-some years and my grandma was a nurse, so I’ve been around health care for most of my life.
“I enjoy helping take care of people and seeing them improve and being that hand they hold at the end of the day and making them feel better.”
Serving Veterans is something Beardsley treasures. “I take care of so many Veterans that have been through so much, so that makes my job worth it,” she said. “But it always makes you feel good whenever you get a little bit of recognition.”
Beardsley was nominated for the BEE Award by an anonymous coworker, who said she “is a great asset to our team. She goes above and beyond to help Veterans as well as helping nurses when she is asked.”
Continuing, her nomination letter read, Beardsley “never hesitates to be one of the first people to answer a call light or to do rounds. I highly enjoy having Alyssa on my team. She is the perfect example of commitment to our unit.”
Beardsley’s supervisor, Karen Miller, noted she’s “a very caring person and dedicated to delivering high quality care to the Veterans she serves.”
Miller added, “Alyssa is always willing to help her coworkers, has a positive attitude, and is a valuable member of the team.”