Miriam is a phenomenal asset to our team here on labor and delivery. Every shift I work alongside her, I see her going above and beyond in her patient care. She develops a therapeutic relationship with every patient and their family. She is consistently getting positive feedback regarding the trust and compassion she shows in her care. Recently, Miriam worked an extremely difficult shift.

One of our antepartum patients, who was early on in her pregnancy, started laboring, and delivery was imminent. This all was happening right at shift change as Miriam was starting her shift and received this assignment. This was a preterm delivery where the patient had a vaginal delivery in the OR. Unfortunately, multiple factors led to the baby passing away soon after delivery. Miriam stayed by her patient's side in the OR while the mom was staying with her baby, watching him be cared for by our NICU team. This was just the start of an emotionally heavy shift for Miriam and her patient. The care I witnessed Miriam provide throughout this shift was something I will never forget. She advocated for her patient, limiting visitors in the room and allowing her patient to grieve with her baby in her arms. She used her clinical judgement and prioritized the patient's emotional needs over lab draws or other invasive medical tasks that could wait until the patient was ready. She developed a therapeutic relationship with this patient and made sure all her needs were met. Miriam provided exceptional bereavement care, hand-making a memory box for this mom and her beloved newborn. You could tell how much the patient trusted Miriam and the care she provided. Miriam emphasized the importance of not only the physical care needed to keep our patients safe, but also the emotional care that comes with our job. I know she made a positive impact on her patient during this incredibly sad time for her patient. Miriam provides labor and delivery with that same light every shift she works.