Jessi is a kind, intelligent, hardworking, compassionate, and loveable human being. Better yet, she has all of those characteristics as a nurse, too. Jessi leads our night shift crew with her knowledge of the specialty and her compassion for our staff and patients, all while having a calm and comforting demeanor.

One time, we had a patient arrive to us early in the morning, and she had unstable vital signs, was very fatigued a pregnant on top of it. Based on the patient's history of gallstones, it was very easy to assume her gallbladder was the source of her illness. However, all of the patient's imaging came back normal but her blood work was outside of normal ranges. It was now time for the patient to be consulted with ID or IM. Consults in the early morning hours in labor and delivery can be difficult to get. Jessi stepped up to the plate without hesitation. She had ideas that could support a possible diagnosis for this patient. She connected dots that no other medical professional was connecting. And most importantly, she advocated for this sick patient. Jessi called a rapid on the patient and, before we knew it, supporting staff from throughout the hospital were present and helping this sick mom-to-be. It was determined that the patient needed to be transferred to the ICU, where she remained on continuous fetal monitoring and was well cared for. The patient was where she needed to be and cared for the way she needed to be because of Jessi’s quick thinking and expertise.

There are so many examples of how Jessi brings her heart to work, not only for our patients but for our staff. Night shift has a lot of new grad RNs, and they depend on Jessi's knowledge to help them think critically and care for patients. Although I'm sure it can be overwhelming, Jessi takes the time to teach. She takes the time to ensure her staff is comfortable, competent, and encouraged. She cares. This recognition is well overdue. Jessi is such a great compliment to our labor team, and we are so thankful for her.