Without embellishing the impact of this person in any way, Judy Glover is an angel sent from above. Any hospital that is lucky enough to have her as an employee has not only secured a nurse that is dedicated to providing their patient with the highest standard of care and an improved outcome but also a person who is extraordinary in the unique level of compassion and skill with which she is able to help guide her patients to that outcome.

My husband is the son of two physicians (one a gynecologist), and we have never seen anything quite as special as Nurse Glover in our lives. I was admitted to Cedars Sinai and due to complications with my blood work, it was found that I would not be having an epidural or a c-section, but instead would be having an unplanned natural birth. I emphasize unplanned because not only was this my first child, but having expected an epidural, I did not have any knowledge of the best way to have a natural birth -- no teacher, no doula, and no appetite for a natural birth. Moreover, my bloodwork did not allow for substantive relief from any sort of material pain medication and my bloodwork also indicated the need for an induction, which expedited my labor and thus my pain.

It was during these excruciating hours of constant pain and lack of knowledge that we met Nurse Glover. We were admitted to the hospital almost 24 hours before our beautiful daughter E was born. For 20 of those hours, we requested additional pain medication but could not find the appropriate cocktail to reduce my pain. I shouted for a c-section, for an epidural, for anything to end the pain. And barring that pain medication, my husband and I asked every nurse and every doctor who came to help us for positions that might reduce my pain and expedite my delivery. My sense was that there are not many unplanned natural births at Cedars and so either patients have the knowledge, doula, and appetite or they have the epidural/c-section, and thus Nurses and Doctors did not seem to be knowledgeable on how to help. If any advice was offered, it was "whatever feels comfortable to you," which mid-scream was entirely unhelpful.

Our charge nurse (who deserves an honorable mention) visited our room and made an effort to find out what was happening with our medication and also to provide some tactical positions to improve our journey. But Nurse S had many other patients to oversee, and could not be as focused -- but she was fantastic as well.

Finally, in the 20th hour of our pregnancy, Nurse Glover appeared. She immediately referred to me with compassionate words that made me feel more at peace. She used her clinical knowledge to help move me into positions that were more comfortable. She cleaned up the blood and excrement that was surrounding me, including the excess I was producing. She cared. More than that, while I wasn't yet her patient, she saw that I was in desperate need of additional care and stated that she would see to it that she would be with me until our baby was born. My husband finally sat down to watch Nurse Glover do her work and told me that he cried seeing me finally receiving adequate comfort for the first time in almost a day of dire pain. Nurse Glover continued with me until the birth of my daughter. Coaching not only me but her peers who came to help with the final delivery, on how to help and how to truly provide care. The mission is that "Cedars-Sinai Nursing is committed to leadership and excellence in delivering high-quality, compassionate, value-added, person-centered care." Nurse Glover exhibits every aspect of that, most notably person-centered. And she improves the very word Nurse and enhances the environment around her, and this award commemorates that. I now think of her as family.