valerie harbaugh, RN

Valerie was the nurse for a 4 day old newborn admitted with jaundice and feeding issues. The mother had been complaining of a headache since arrival to the unit that evening. During the middle of the night, the mother's headache worsened and she started complaining of her ears ringing. Valerie, recognizing the signs of pre-eclampsia, took the mother's blood pressure to find it very elevated. Not having anyone available to accompany the mother to the emergency room, Valerie arranged for the second nurse to watch her patients and took mom to the ER, where she stayed with her through the registration process. The mother required several days of hospitalization to regain control of her blood pressure. Valerie has been a pediatric nurse for many years and had the ability to recognize and act upon a condition outside her specialty area. Valerie went above and beyond the care of her patient and was a great comfort to this family.