May 2026 Honoree
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 2026
Janessa Alonso, MSN, MHA • Amy Beliveau, BSN, RN • Elaine Gutierrez, MSN, RNC • Nicole Raynor, BSN, RNC-NIC, CBC • Jenny Besser, RN • Teresita Palmer Romero, BSN, CCRN • Diana Wolak, RN-NICU • In addition to the NICU nurses above, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital NICU team is comprised of 273 team members, including 246 nurses, who bring expertise and heart to every patient and family they serve.
I wanted to share the amazing efforts to help support one of our NICU moms who was moving through her end of life. Clinical Managers, Jenny Besser and Teresita Palmer Romero, and the NICU team did such a beautiful job supporting this Mother, the family, and the baby during this difficult time.
They showed amazing love for this family by ensuring that Mom, who was in the ICU, had an opportunity to be with and bond with the baby during this difficult time, and also secured lifelong memories that the family will always cherish.
Thinking outside the box, Jenny and Terri took the baby up to the ICU in an isolette, something that had never been done before, and did so again several times. Later, when the baby was in an open crib, they continued to plan visits to Mom.
They assisted Mom in doing kangaroo care and took photos of Mom and Dad doing skin-to-skin with the baby. They also set up a photoshoot on another day with Mom, Dad, and the baby's siblings, knowing that this would be the only opportunity to have photos of them all together.
Natalia Torres also took the baby up to the ICU on her shift to provide additional bonding time.
Diana Wolak raised the idea, and the team of Chelsea Garcia, Social Worker & the Child Life Manager, Sarah Musielak, obtained the mother's heartbeat and ensured that we were able to provide a heartbeat bear to the NICU baby and one to each of the other two children who were losing their mother.
The father/husband was so moved and so grateful for the love and tenderness this team showed their family during such a difficult time.
The baby's mother did succumb to her illness, but the family had these very special memories to carry them through their time of grieving.
They showed amazing love for this family by ensuring that Mom, who was in the ICU, had an opportunity to be with and bond with the baby during this difficult time, and also secured lifelong memories that the family will always cherish.
Thinking outside the box, Jenny and Terri took the baby up to the ICU in an isolette, something that had never been done before, and did so again several times. Later, when the baby was in an open crib, they continued to plan visits to Mom.
They assisted Mom in doing kangaroo care and took photos of Mom and Dad doing skin-to-skin with the baby. They also set up a photoshoot on another day with Mom, Dad, and the baby's siblings, knowing that this would be the only opportunity to have photos of them all together.
Natalia Torres also took the baby up to the ICU on her shift to provide additional bonding time.
Diana Wolak raised the idea, and the team of Chelsea Garcia, Social Worker & the Child Life Manager, Sarah Musielak, obtained the mother's heartbeat and ensured that we were able to provide a heartbeat bear to the NICU baby and one to each of the other two children who were losing their mother.
The father/husband was so moved and so grateful for the love and tenderness this team showed their family during such a difficult time.
The baby's mother did succumb to her illness, but the family had these very special memories to carry them through their time of grieving.
Thank you for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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