Joanne was one of the night nurse managers while our son was in the NICU. Her professionalism, knowledge, and compassion for her patients and patients’ families make her an excellent candidate for any position. What I remember most about Joanne is how patient and understanding she was. She struck a balance between taking care of her patients as well as her nurses. I think that I can best describe her with a few anecdotes.

The first time I met Joanne was our third night in the NICU. We had just found out some tough news about our son, and we were back at the hospital hoping to get some answers and have some things explained to us. Joanne was a member of the team that came in to help us understand what was going on with our son. Not only did Joanne make sure that the doctors came to speak to us, but she also helped to explain everything that the doctors told us, as well as checked in on us over the next few nights in case we had any additional questions. Joanne continued to be one of the people that we turned to throughout our 84 day NICU stay.

I remember one night when we had a concern about one of our nurses, we went to Joanne as the manager on duty and voiced our concern. She listened carefully to us and assured us that she would check in on our son and his nurse, and make sure that he was well taken care of. In this instance, she took care of both my family and her staff, by listening to our concerns while also allowing the nurse to do her job.

Joanne truly cares about her patients and her nurses, and it shows not only through the care that she directly provides to the babies and families in the NICU, but the care that the nurses give. I always felt comfortable leaving my son in the NICU, knowing that he was well cared for by Joanne and her staff. Working overnight and caring for NICU babies is not a small responsibility, and Joanne stood out to us as one of the most caring and helpful members of the NICU staff. Our son is currently growing up happy and healthy thanks to Joanne and her staff.