Christina Jonker
December 2022
Christina
Jonker
,
BSN, RN
NICU
Adventist HealthCare - Shady Grove Medical Center
Rockville
,
MD
United States
Christina proved that she truly cared, was incredibly knowledgeable, and made all three of us feel special.
From the instant our daughter was born and delivered to the NICU, Christina has been there. It was a very busy night and as first-time parents, we were terrified, anxious, and angry. Christina saw that things were chaotic, saw that we were upset, and jumped into action to soothe our worries. For the entire month, she went out of her way to get to know us and our daughter by providing excellent care and bedside manner. Christina proved that she truly cared, was incredibly knowledgeable, and made all three of us feel special.
This is more generalized because it is impossible to choose just one story in which she made a difference in our lives. The list is extensive and the words would run off the page. To name just a few, she hand-crafted a footprint valentine’s day card for the baby, hand-crafted a wreath for our nursery, consoled us when we received bad news about formula being necessary, reassured us when the baby went back on oxygen twice, and listened to our concerns about her oxygen levels regardless of how much we overreacted. She took our minds off of the baby’s scary episodes of bradycardia by telling us about an amazing ice cream flavor we should try, or connecting with us over our passion for low-budget scary movies. She explained why things were happening and always assured us that everything would be okay. She advocated for our daughter with other nurses and doctors to make sure that even in her absence, our baby was getting the same level of care that she provided. We have had bad experiences with healthcare throughout our lives and this was the shining individual who restored our faith in doctors and nurses. If Christina doesn’t deserve this award then this award does not represent what it purports to.
*****
Ms. Christina went above and beyond to make my stay in this hospital incredible. She was very patient with me and taught me a lot, even though I am not a new mother. She taught me new tricks to help my newborn baby. I would like to recognize her because she is what we need in our hospital to feel safe and secure.
This is more generalized because it is impossible to choose just one story in which she made a difference in our lives. The list is extensive and the words would run off the page. To name just a few, she hand-crafted a footprint valentine’s day card for the baby, hand-crafted a wreath for our nursery, consoled us when we received bad news about formula being necessary, reassured us when the baby went back on oxygen twice, and listened to our concerns about her oxygen levels regardless of how much we overreacted. She took our minds off of the baby’s scary episodes of bradycardia by telling us about an amazing ice cream flavor we should try, or connecting with us over our passion for low-budget scary movies. She explained why things were happening and always assured us that everything would be okay. She advocated for our daughter with other nurses and doctors to make sure that even in her absence, our baby was getting the same level of care that she provided. We have had bad experiences with healthcare throughout our lives and this was the shining individual who restored our faith in doctors and nurses. If Christina doesn’t deserve this award then this award does not represent what it purports to.
*****
Ms. Christina went above and beyond to make my stay in this hospital incredible. She was very patient with me and taught me a lot, even though I am not a new mother. She taught me new tricks to help my newborn baby. I would like to recognize her because she is what we need in our hospital to feel safe and secure.