Emma provided extraordinary compassion and displayed the utmost respect and empathy to a mother who had a baby admitted to the NICU but ultimately died shortly thereafter. Emma rose to the occasion to make sure this mother was taken care of after her C-section–even when the mother’s focus was on her sick baby. Emma went out of her way to give this mother all the time she wanted–adapting to the needs of the mother and the NICU team. She was accommodating and flexible–which I very much appreciated!

One evening Emma asked the House Operations Manager for the nurse of the baby. She then Voalted me (NICU nurse) to tell me that “if the mom needed anything at all, she would be right up!” Emma brought pain meds, water, and a bag of post-partum essentials for the mom so she could stay with her baby. Emma’s interaction with the grieving mother was very sweet and gentle. I could really tell Emma had dealt with grieving mothers before, but even more so, I could tell Emma truly enjoys being a nurse.

Later that night, Emma offered to get the cuddle cot for me as well, which was so kind of her–and again, going above and beyond. I truly think Emma’s kindness and willingness to help in this unfortunate circumstance did help the parents grieve and impacted their stay at UIHC because we worked together as a team to accommodate the needs of the family, to make the most of what little time they had together as a family.