Sydney Jackson transferred to Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU) at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center from 8 Main in 2021. Since then, she has gone above and beyond for every patient she has come in contact with.  She is the type of nurse who treats every patient like family and does everything in her power to make them feel like they are more than just another ICU patient. On a regular basis, I receive compliments from patient families about how Sydney cares for their loved ones. Most of these families report that when they thank Sydney, she replies that “She’s just doing her job.” 

Being a patient in the Trauma ICU often means that our patients miss out on life events and quickly lose their motivation. Sydney strives to encourage not only her patients but all of the patients in the unit to maintain as much independence and “normalcy” as possible. I could list a million examples of extraordinary things Sydney has done for our patients.

In 2022, we had a patient who had been in STICU for an extended stay and was transitioning to Pine Pointe for Hospice. One of his final wishes was to marry his girlfriend of 10+ years. He knew this would be difficult with his clinical condition and was hoping to have a bedside ceremony. Sydney worked with palliative care and other STICU teammates to arrange a surprise ceremony in the chapel. I helped Sydney transport the patient downstairs and then watched as she photographed the ceremony for the couple. This included her crawling on the floor to get photo angles to make it look a little less like a wedding ceremony in a hospital. When interviewed for a Connect to Purpose, Sydney said, “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I never expected to be part of a wedding, let alone a photographer. It was very sweet, and I will definitely always remember it. In the circumstances he was in, we wanted to make it special for him. He was at peace; you could tell it was a big moment for him.”