Audrey Law's participation in evaluating the success of our perinatal pumping program, providing education, and ongoing monitoring have impacted NICU neonatal health as giving the first feed as breastmilk leads to better outcomes in this population. This also impacts the bottom line of JPS financially as the purchase of donor milk is very expensive, $14/ounce so every ounce mom's pump for their own baby decreases our cost. The mother's breast milk adapts to the gestational age nutritional content each baby needs, so is clinically better for growth and nutrition for that mom's baby.
In addition, because she walks the talk at JPS, she is one of our primary preceptors for new team members. Recently, her latest orientee shared a clinical situation.
During orientation, they were caring for a first time mom and family who had the loss of their infant at term, 41 weeks. This is difficult for staff, let alone an orientee on the first time she cared for a patient with a loss. The patient and family kept the baby at the bedside for several hours. After the baby was taken to the morgue, the father of the baby came back to the hospital with casting material to make a footprint memento. As families cannot go to the morgue, Audrey (who herself is pregnant) and her orientee, went to the morgue and unwrapped the baby to make footprints for the family. They cried together over the loss as they imprinted the baby's feet onto the molds for the family. When these were presented to the mom and dad by Audrey, for the first time the mother smiled at having another keepsake for the baby she will never hold in her arms again.
Besides the patient and family, the nurse with a long career ahead of her will never forget the humanity and compassion of her preceptor, Audrey Law.