kaila degroot, BSN, RN

My anxiety-ridden son with cognitive impairments and high behavioral issues came into the hospital very sick and miserable. Within minutes of coming into Nurse Kaila's care, he was relaxing and smiling. Her nurturing, cheerful and compassionate demeanor made all the difference in my son's stay at the hospital. While tirelessly taking care of all of her many patients and working 13-hr shifts, she tenaciously pursued answers to my questions, provided comforting measures for my son and even flagged down security guards who weren't particularly busy to visit my son, knowing of his love for all things emergency-response. On her own time at home, she made "Officer JJ" a special sign and she clued in the staff on duty on how best to comfort my son. After working her second 13-hr back to back shift, she didn't go home until JJ was available to say goodbye to. He told her he would rather be camping than in the hospital, so she helped him imagine the IV pole as a tree, his bed became a camper, the green paint on the wall became a forest, and she drew him a picture of a campfire. She wrote a love note on it, and we will take it home as a keepsake. Kaila is special. She is the quintessential example of everything a nurse should be. She has made all of the difference for my son.