Emily Clark is dedicated to the NICU. She had been charging all night, and after she gave report to the day-shift charge nurses, she stayed and helped with a very busy morning. Along with two admits from delivery at shift change, a baby had also passed away at the same time. The unit was crazy because all the nurses were receiving report and were getting ready for two new babies at the same time, but there was also a grieving family in the midst. Emily stayed late into the morning to be by the grieving family's side. She provided care that would have been delayed due to the hectic morning. There were also some very specific labs that needed to be sent to the lab at 0730 (also at shift change) for that baby, and she took care of that too. On top of this, she also helped take care of the baby's after life care by giving the baby a bath, dressing her in an outfit from our Tears room, taking pictures for the family and creating a box of memories for them. The last thing she did after all of this was assist me, a novice charge nurse, with the death packet paperwork.
I am very grateful to Emily for taking the time to go the extra mile for the unit and show me how to be a better charge nurse. She deserves a DAISY Award for her diligence and devotion at a critical time in the NICU.