Pregnancy and the birthing experience come with a wide range of emotions—anticipation, joy, nervousness, and sometimes even fear. Our nominator did not have a textbook pregnancy and arrived six weeks early for an unplanned, emergency C-section. What should have been a joyous occasion quickly became a fight to keep her newborn son breathing. Already in pain, emotionally drained, and deeply worried about her baby’s condition, the situation escalated when he needed to be intubated and placed on a CPAP machine. In that moment, her world felt like it was crashing down. One nurse was there to hold it all together: Alissa.

Though assigned to care for the baby, she was there for both mother and child. With patience, compassion, and undeniable skill, she guided them through the intubation and treatment process. She was the steady support in a storm of unknowns—ready, willing, and able to listen, answer questions, and do whatever was necessary. She met each moment with calm determination, allowing the mother to be a mom—worried for her baby—without the pressure to rely on our nominator’s nursing background to navigate the crisis. In our nurse’s capable hands, both mother and baby were safe.

Our nominator said it best: “It takes education to be a nurse. It takes compassion to be a baby nurse. It takes skill to see the fine line between stable and unstable. It took someone way bigger than life to not only be my son's nurse in a critical situation but a support person to me as well.” It’s not hard to see Alissa’s can-do spirit through our nominator’s story, and we are so grateful for the impact she has and will continue to make on our patients’ lives.