Surani Hayre-Kwan, DNP, MBA, FNP-BC, FACHE, FAANP is one of just four nurses to receive a national DAISY Nurse Leader Award in Policy for 2021. The award honors nurses whose policy work advances compassionate care that improves population health.
While Hayre-Kwan is active on many policy fronts, the DAISY Award specifically highlights her work that led to enhanced state funding of the Denti-Cal program in specific vulnerable patient populations. As a result of her efforts to have California general funds and Proposition 56 monies reinstated into the state budget, dental care was restored to more than 32,000 children and special needs patients who rely on Denti-Cal for coverage.
Hayre-Kwan is Director, Professional Practice & Nursing Excellence, Office of the Chief Nurse Officer for Sutter Health, a past president of the CANP and a current member of several CANP committees. She is also President of the Board of the Pediatric Dental Initiative of the North Coast, a major Denti-Cal provider.
In nominating Hayre-Kwan for the award, Peggy Clark, Chief Nurse Executive at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, stressed the critical need for pediatric dental care in vulnerable populations and Hayre-Kwan’s commitment to health equity.
“She has witnessed how vulnerable pediatric and special needs patients face extensive barriers in accessing basic health services and often experience long waiting periods for pain relief and to treat complex oral health issues,” Clark wrote. “This patient population has traditionally relied on community resources such as local hospitals and a small number of dentists willing to treat complex cases of dental decay. With an insufficient number of treatment options, children with severe decay and special needs patients were forced to wait several months for treatment, often in severe pain and with worsening conditions. Because these patients required significant time and expertise, providing care creates an unmanageable burden on local healthcare resources.”
In a Daisy Foundation and HealthImpact press release announcing the awards, Garrett Chan, PhD, APRN, FAAN, said: “The leadership of these honorees has driven policy development that advanced compassionate care for communities and populations. In these challenging societal and pandemic times, it is heartwarming to see that nurses continue to advance humanitarian efforts for the greater good.”
Chan is president and CEO of HealthImpact, which co-sponsored the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. Chan also won CANP’s annual NP of Distinction Award earlier this year.
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barns, who died at age 33 from an auto-immune disease. His family established the award to recognize and thank nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of patients and their families.