I am not a nurse, but I work closely with nurses in the NICU 95% of my day. All the nurses work so hard and tirelessly for their patients. However, there is one who stands out to me and goes above and beyond for her patients, Niki Cain. She exemplifies all four core values as a nurse: to her patients, to the staff, and to everyone she encounters. She tells me all the time how lucky she feels to get to work here at ETCH and take care of our tiniest patients.

For the last 3 months, she has been the primary nurse for K, and I have watched her go above and beyond for K and her family. K’s mom was here almost every day. When it was time for her to go back to work, she was distraught and upset and did not want to leave K’s bedside. Niki went out and bought the prettiest notebook and put it at the bedside and put a note to ask everyone who encountered K to write a note in the book so when mom came in, she would not feel she missed a beat regarding K's care.

She loves her job, takes pride in the job she does, and makes sure she does it well. Respect and excellence can be rolled up in everything else I said about Niki; she is one of the kindest people I know and always puts others before herself. There was a major holiday that she happened to be off, and she picked up someone’s shift because they had a little one at home and she felt it was more important that her co-worker be home with her family than herself. I remember she said, "I haven’t told my mom I won’t be there for holiday dinner, and she won’t be happy, but I want to help someone else instead." That was a selfless act. Niki, you are an amazing person, a fabulous nurse, and someone who has the kindest and biggest heart I know.