There is an extraordinary person who is one of our nurses in the BKOCH NNICU area, and she is someone who always goes above and beyond while exhibiting our Culture Commitments.

This past weekend our neonatal transport team got called to a hospital in South Georgia to bring a 31-week preterm neonate back to our NNICU. The mom had arrived at the outlying facility in labor and with breach presentation. The team transported the baby back to BKOCH with no issues. On the next day, the mom arrived at BKOCH facility.

This nurse was quick to realize that mom was not English speaking and only spoke Spanish. She immediately set up our language line so that communication with the mom could occur. She quickly learned that mom had been dropped off at the hospital with no money, no place to stay, and was still in the process of recuperating from her c-section. She was able to get the mom a wheelchair so that she could navigate more comfortably throughout the hospital. She also began to try and accommodate the mom in the Ronald McDonald House. In the meantime, while placement in the Ronald McDonald House was being worked on, she arranged for the mom to stay at the bedside in a recliner so that she could also begin to heal. The mom was trying to breastfeed as well and the nurse knew how important it was for her to stay hydrated and receive appropriate nourishment. She made arrangements with our nutritional team to provide meals and beverages so that mom could continue to pump her breast milk for the baby.

On the following day, mom was accepted at the Ronald McDonald House and this nurse assisted her in getting settled into that space. On the following day, Mom arrived in the NNICU and went to her and just stood and hugged her for several minutes as a token of appreciation and trust. This Extraordinary Nurse is Laura Griffin.