American Nurses Credentialing Center Presents Margretta Madden Styles President’s Award to Bonnie and Mark Barnes
Founders of the DAISY Foundation honored at ANCC Magnet & Pathway Conference™ in Atlanta for extraordinary leadership and global impact on nursing
ATLANTA – October 8, 2025 – Today, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) presented its prestigious Margretta Madden Styles President’s Award to Bonnie and Mark Barnes, previously designated as Fellows by the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). This award celebrates their extraordinary accomplishments, visionary leadership, and profound impact on nursing practice and the global health care community. The honor was conferred at the 2025 Magnet & Pathway Conference™ in Atlanta.
“Bonnie and Mark’s unwavering commitment to nurses and to the nursing profession is an inspiration to us all,” said ANCC President Laura J. Wood, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “Their vision to celebrate and recognize nurses for their extraordinary, compassionate, and skillful care has fundamentally reshaped how nurses in all settings are recognized in the U.S. and around the world. They have helped all of us to more fully appreciate the complex technical and humanistic aspects of nursing care that fundamentally touch us all.”
Bonnie and Mark Barnes founded the DAISY Foundation in 1999 to celebrate extraordinary and compassionate nurses in honor of their son, Patrick Barnes. Since its inception, the foundation has recognized nurses across the world through the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses and awarded more than $900,000 in grants for nursing research, evidence-based practice projects, and medical missions.
“ANCC has made a huge difference in our drive to make meaningful recognition of nurses a global movement, said Bonnie Barnes, Co-Founder and Board President of the DAISY Foundation. “Nurses are so deeply deserving of our society’s gratitude, and ANCC’s recognition of what has become our life’s purpose means the world to Mark and me and our entire DAISY family.”
Through the DAISY Foundation, Bonnie and Mark have strengthened nurse engagement, advanced healthy work environments, and elevated patient and family experiences. For more than two decades, their vision has brought meaningful recognition to nurses in over 40 countries and territories, spotlighting compassionate care that goes beyond clinical excellence.
The Margretta Madden Styles President’s Award recognizes exceptional leaders who have partnered with the ANCC president to advance the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Honorees are selected by the ANCC president through a rigorous nomination process. The award is presented annually at the Magnet & Pathway Conference.
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About the American Nurses Credentialing Center
The American Nurses Credentialing Center partners with the nation’s largest group of healthcare professionals to uphold the highest standards of nursing excellence. With a comprehensive suite of individual certifications and organizational accreditation programs designed to foster research, innovation, career growth, and leadership development, the credentialing center equips nurses to achieve safer, patient-centric outcomes both nationally and internationally. Committed to harnessing The Power of Nurses™ to elevate care standards worldwide, the credentialing center continuously sets the benchmarks that support excellence in every facet of nursing practice.
About The Daisy Foundation
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from Nurses while he was ill inspired the creation of The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing Nurse recognition and thanking Nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. In addition to the DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 7,600 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition programs for nurses wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers – from nursing student through lifetime achievement, and through several lines of research grant and evidence-based practice projects funding. More information is available at https://DAISYfoundation.org.
About the Magnet & Pathway Conference™
The Magnet & Pathway Conference™ is the largest gathering of nurses in the world, convening thousands of frontline nurses, nurse leaders, executives, and innovators every year. Hosted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, this premier annual event celebrates excellence in nursing, advances evidence-based practice, and showcases the power of nurses to transform health care. Through dynamic keynote sessions, cutting-edge education, networking opportunities, and recognition of Magnet® and Pathway to Excellence® organizations, the conference empowers nurses across every setting to lead change and elevate the profession.
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