Leah Gard
August 2024
Leah
Gard
,
RN
OB
Mosaic Medical Center - Maryville
Maryville
United States
The parents came in here scared, nervous, and crying and they left confident in their ability to provide nutrition to their child and what to do if they were having issues.
We had a 48-hour-old baby in the ED. This baby had been delivered elsewhere and discharged because the parents were told, "everything looks great on the post-partum screenings." But they were first-time parents, and severely under-educated by the previous hospital. The parents were obviously sleep deprived from having a newborn and didn't get more than 4 hours of sleep the previous night. As new parents, they were very unsure if what they were doing was correct. The baby is formula fed and the parents stated she had not been eating very well. I was able to answer a good number of their questions, but besides my personal experience with my two boys, I was not much help with further education. When I called and began asking questions, Leah Gard actually offered to come over and help. She went right into the patient's room and began building a rapport with the parents, asking them what they already knew and giving some insights.
One of the main concerns the parents had was feeding (this was secondary to the concern that brought them to the ED). They had a bottle and Leah noticed the nipple on the bottle was stiff and not the correct size. She gave them a few sizes we had here to try. The baby drank the whole bottle, and it was more than what they were eating at home this morning since they were having issues all day. She sat in there and gave them tips and tricks during the whole feed, educating them about the need to keep the child awake because they will try to fall asleep, where their rooting reflex is, and a lot more. The parents came in here scared, nervous, and crying and they left confident in their ability to provide nutrition to their child and what to do if they were having issues. She assured them they can always call us (and the OB department) if they ever have any questions or concerns, and we would be willing to help. This is not the first time Leah has been of great help to us and I am sure this will not be the last. I know one of our ER Nurses with a lot of experience in pediatrics (NICU) gives praise to how well Leah handles tough/critical situations overnight with the pediatric patients. She is a great Nurse, and an even better co-worker. We are lucky to have her.
One of the main concerns the parents had was feeding (this was secondary to the concern that brought them to the ED). They had a bottle and Leah noticed the nipple on the bottle was stiff and not the correct size. She gave them a few sizes we had here to try. The baby drank the whole bottle, and it was more than what they were eating at home this morning since they were having issues all day. She sat in there and gave them tips and tricks during the whole feed, educating them about the need to keep the child awake because they will try to fall asleep, where their rooting reflex is, and a lot more. The parents came in here scared, nervous, and crying and they left confident in their ability to provide nutrition to their child and what to do if they were having issues. She assured them they can always call us (and the OB department) if they ever have any questions or concerns, and we would be willing to help. This is not the first time Leah has been of great help to us and I am sure this will not be the last. I know one of our ER Nurses with a lot of experience in pediatrics (NICU) gives praise to how well Leah handles tough/critical situations overnight with the pediatric patients. She is a great Nurse, and an even better co-worker. We are lucky to have her.