This was our first child and we were nervous about the whole labor, delivery, and postpartum process. My wife wasn't sure what to expect regarding pain and discomfort as well as what her body would do and the items (other than a baby) that would come out of her during this time. Evamarie was extremely down to earth and she made us comfortable with the entire process, stating that she has seen all sorts of stuff, and not to worry about the delivery process and what gross things may occur. Evamarie's approach relaxed us and we never gave a second thought to our nerves. She regularly demonstrated "Is compassionate, trustworthy, and caring in all situations" throughout the entire birthing process.
Once my wife got the epidural, Evamarie strongly recommended the "peanut ball." We had heard about this device during our laboring class several weeks before. During that class, we had heard really good things about it but it was also mentioned that many of the nurses do not use it because it is a relatively new technique. Evamarie described to us how there have been lots of studies done that showed the effectiveness. Being engineers, we are both very data and science-driven so we really liked how educated she was on new clinical practices. This demonstrated "Demonstrates clinical care and commitment to excellence."
Evamarie was an incredible labor coach. My wife was so relieved when Evamarie gave her the green light to start pushing. She coached and encouraged us both through each contraction with an extremely calm, positive, and reassuring demeanor. We enjoyed talking to her in between each contraction, which made the two hours my wife pushed go by very quickly. We listened to music, talked about all sorts of random stuff, and joked a lot, which is important to us. We enjoyed getting to know her over the course of her 12-hour shift. She took extra time to get to know us, our careers, etc. She shared information about herself and her recent move to Michigan. Throughout this time, she demonstrated "Does an excellent job educating the patient and family, and listens to any questions or concerns they may have" and "Makes a special connection with the patient and family."
When Evamarie said it was time to start pushing, she asked where the phone was. She said, "You will want to keep that in your pocket." Once our son was born, as I stood there in disbelief, Evamarie looked over to him and said, "Get your phone out!" I started taking pictures when Evamarie said, "Okay, give me your phone and let's get some pictures of all of you." We regularly look back at those photos which really show the raw emotions and memories we had of those very magical minutes after his birth. This demonstrates "Goes above and beyond."
After the birth as she was picking up the room and getting everything organized, she asked us, "Do you guys want to see the placenta before we dispose of it?" We took her up on it and she took the time to explain everything to us like we were in high school science class again. While showing us, we got a, "hmm, that is interesting" and then she proceeded to show us that the umbilical cord was on the edge of the placenta. She said that it was rare but there are no medical concerns to worry about. Because of the "uniqueness," she followed up with the doctor which they decided to send to Pathology for studying. This also demonstrates "Does an excellent job educating the patient and family," "Collaborates well with physicians and others," and also "Goes above and beyond."
Lastly, while we were trying to get some rest when our son finally decided to also get some rest, we noticed a toilet that kept flushing every minute or so. It sounded like it was the room next to us, so we raised a concern to her not only because of the noise but because it seemed like someone could be really sick. With a big smile on her face, she took on the mission to figure it out and said, "I love detective work, I am on it!" After a while she came back and said, "I found the issue! It was the staff bathroom, down the hall. Someone laid an object (maybe a mop?) near the flushing sensor which was making it flush repeatedly." In this situation, Evamarie really demonstrated "Advocates for the patient and is a problem solver."
Please share this story with her and pass on our thanks again for her wonderful care.