‘What a Wonderful World’ award won by Queens nurse

At Beth Israel Medical Center, the orthopedic nurse manager Daphne Ridley, RN, MA, has done outstanding work helping her patients recover.
In recognition of her exceptional achievement, Ridley, who lives in East Elmhurst, was the proud recipient of the 2010 “What a Wonderful World” award at the fifth annual awards ceremony on September 20 at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine in Union Square.
“Beyond her leadership and organizational skills, it is Ridley’s humanity that has contributed most to her success,” said Peter McCann, M.D., chair, Beth Israel’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery, who nominated Ridley for the award. “She is humble and kind, and has an unwavering commitment and drive to do what is right to achieve her goals. Her professionalism and heartfelt dedication has truly made the world a better place.”
Ridley has been the orthopedic nurse manager at Beth Israel Medical Center for eight years. Throughout her 40 years as a nurse, she said her biggest reward has been the joy of a patient who is discharged from the hospital feeling better than when they were admitted.
“I am rewarded when a patient leaves and says ‘Thank you,’” Ridley said. “I am rewarded when I get a new nurse and within a year she is strong and gets compliments from the patients.”
Ridley said she feels a connection to Louis Armstrong because her home in East Elmhurst is within walking distance from Armstrong’s former Queens home.
Now, she is just proud to have the respect of all her family, friends and co-workers, who admire how she is successfully living out a dream she has had since the sixth grade. Back then, she said, she used to read books about nurses to prepare herself for her future career. She said she received a very important lesson from her career as a nurse.
“Learn to live life daily,” she said. “The simplest things have more value than the most expensive. Remembering a name or sitting and talking with a patient through their pain can be the biggest help.”