Lauren Foss
March 2022
Lauren
Foss
,
RN
Postpartum
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill
Seattle
,
WA
United States
Lauren exhibited the highest standard of care for all three of us as whole persons, caring attentively for each of our physical, mental, and emotional health.
We spent a few nights at Swedish First Hill following the birth of our son. Labor and delivery were complicated and resulted in an emergency c-section. The care we received in the postpartum unit was second to none, but in particular, I don't know that we would have made it out of there in (collectively) one piece without the support of our amazing nurse, Lauren. She supported us on an overnight and a daytime shift, where she evidenced extreme compassion for the complicated birthing process we had just gone through – she checked in early and often on Mom, Dad, and babe to ensure we were all feeling well both physically and emotionally. She went to great lengths to explain every decision available to us, every test that was being or would be performed, and kept an open ear to our concerns and questions. Our babe took to her immediately, as did we. She ensured that our room was kept tidy, that we each got the rest we needed, and that we struck a perfect balance of getting all the help we needed (whether we asked for it explicitly or implicitly) without taking away our control as parents of this newborn human.
When our babe's weight dropped and we were told to supplement with formula by another overnight nurse (without much in the way of context or process), Lauren came on shift the next morning and explained to us the reasoning, risks, and benefits, and again expressed empathy for the situation – she showed us multiple methods of supplementation delivery, as well as additional lactation techniques to support providing Mom's milk as a first nutrition source. She could intuit when Mom was in pain and made sure to advocate for an appropriate pain management strategy, especially in light of Mom's preeclampsia diagnosis. She ensured that the lactation consultants we met with were a good fit for us based on our personalities, evidencing that she takes the time to get to know her patients and ensure they are treated as unique individuals.
We know she was supporting multiple families per shift, but every shift we worked with Lauren, we felt like we were her first and only priority. When it was time to leave the hospital, Lauren capably helped us with discharge logistics but never made us feel like we were being kicked out of the hospital before we were fully ready. When she gave us a car seat lesson and then got ready to send us on our way, we cried tears of gratitude. I recognize this is a scattered laundry list of praise, but perhaps that's appropriate for how our postpartum journey felt – we were coming off a medically complicated labor process that in turn took an emotional toll on us and left us feeling scattered and vulnerable. Lauren exhibited the highest standard of care for all three of us as whole persons, caring attentively for each of our physical, mental, and emotional health and for that, we are forever grateful to her. Swedish should be proud to have her on their team, and we believe that she is truly emblematic of what the DAISY Award aspires to recognize.
When our babe's weight dropped and we were told to supplement with formula by another overnight nurse (without much in the way of context or process), Lauren came on shift the next morning and explained to us the reasoning, risks, and benefits, and again expressed empathy for the situation – she showed us multiple methods of supplementation delivery, as well as additional lactation techniques to support providing Mom's milk as a first nutrition source. She could intuit when Mom was in pain and made sure to advocate for an appropriate pain management strategy, especially in light of Mom's preeclampsia diagnosis. She ensured that the lactation consultants we met with were a good fit for us based on our personalities, evidencing that she takes the time to get to know her patients and ensure they are treated as unique individuals.
We know she was supporting multiple families per shift, but every shift we worked with Lauren, we felt like we were her first and only priority. When it was time to leave the hospital, Lauren capably helped us with discharge logistics but never made us feel like we were being kicked out of the hospital before we were fully ready. When she gave us a car seat lesson and then got ready to send us on our way, we cried tears of gratitude. I recognize this is a scattered laundry list of praise, but perhaps that's appropriate for how our postpartum journey felt – we were coming off a medically complicated labor process that in turn took an emotional toll on us and left us feeling scattered and vulnerable. Lauren exhibited the highest standard of care for all three of us as whole persons, caring attentively for each of our physical, mental, and emotional health and for that, we are forever grateful to her. Swedish should be proud to have her on their team, and we believe that she is truly emblematic of what the DAISY Award aspires to recognize.