LeeAnn Whalen
March 2022
LeeAnn M
Whalen
,
RN
NICU
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill
Seattle
,
WA
United States
As a new mother, I learned how to be a better parent simply by observing how LeeAnn interacts with him.
I would like to nominate LeeAnn Whalen for the DAISY Award. Over the last few months, we have had the fortune and honor to have nurse LeeAnn take care of our son. He was born prematurely. Premature infants at this age are considered micro preemies who require a lot of love and care to mature into healthy infants. During her time as his primary night nurse, LeeAnn repeatedly went above and beyond in order to make sure our son was well taken care of. LeeAnn's strength is her ability to listen to parents’ concerns and be their strongest advocate. I can recount numerous instances where LeeAnn advocated for our son and by doing so improved his course of care.
I got to hold him for the first time when he was a few weeks old. He was still a tiny infant, intubated and kept safe in an isolette. It was LeeAnn who highlighted the importance of skin-to-skin care to promote neurodevelopment in premature infants and encouraged me to take the next step toward bonding with my child. She laid him into my arms and fostered the moment I started to feel like a mother.
As a mother and a physician, I have been very impressed with LeeAnn's clinical acumen, compassion, and attention to detail. LeeAnn relies on her own clinical exam and intuition when caring for her patients. She was able to recognize even the most subtle of changes in my son’s behavior and responded by imploring the appropriate work-up and care. LeeAnn has a patient-centered approach to care. I truly believe that by doing so, she has positively impacted his outcome.
However, even beyond her clinical sharpness, LeeAnn demonstrates respect and compassion toward her patients. My son has always responded well to LeeAnn. As a new mother, I learned how to be a better parent simply by observing how LeeAnn interacts with him. Although born extremely premature with a 50% odds of survival and several complications during his NICU course, he was able to come home this past month. We have the wonderful NICU team and LeeAnn to thank for the amazing care he received.
I got to hold him for the first time when he was a few weeks old. He was still a tiny infant, intubated and kept safe in an isolette. It was LeeAnn who highlighted the importance of skin-to-skin care to promote neurodevelopment in premature infants and encouraged me to take the next step toward bonding with my child. She laid him into my arms and fostered the moment I started to feel like a mother.
As a mother and a physician, I have been very impressed with LeeAnn's clinical acumen, compassion, and attention to detail. LeeAnn relies on her own clinical exam and intuition when caring for her patients. She was able to recognize even the most subtle of changes in my son’s behavior and responded by imploring the appropriate work-up and care. LeeAnn has a patient-centered approach to care. I truly believe that by doing so, she has positively impacted his outcome.
However, even beyond her clinical sharpness, LeeAnn demonstrates respect and compassion toward her patients. My son has always responded well to LeeAnn. As a new mother, I learned how to be a better parent simply by observing how LeeAnn interacts with him. Although born extremely premature with a 50% odds of survival and several complications during his NICU course, he was able to come home this past month. We have the wonderful NICU team and LeeAnn to thank for the amazing care he received.