I have worked in neonatal intensive care for many years. Recently, our hospital closed its NICU, and there has been a decrease in the level of care we can provide. During the transition, the leaving NICU staff have worked hard to make sure the Labor and Delivery team have all the supplies, equipment, and training they need to stabilize our smallest patients.

It was during this period that a baby was born who needed to be urgently transported to another hospital for surgery. Our labor and delivery team worked hard to stabilize this patient while waiting for the transport team to arrive. Kolby happened to walk onto the unit and see the commotion. Kolby is a med/surg nurse and, without missing a beat, said, “I’m NRP trained, how can I help?” Despite being on an unfamiliar unit and caring for a sick newborn, she jumped in to help and was exactly what I needed.

She didn’t have access to our supplies, so I asked her to pull items I needed from an empty admission bed. I noticed later that she got someone else to show her where the supplies were, and she restocked the admission bed. She ran for whatever was needed and did everything with a cool, calm smile. Her assistance made a significant difference in the care we were able to get done while waiting for the transport team.

I’ve seen many health care professionals shy away when babies are involved, and I was absolutely impressed with Kolby’s fearlessness during this situation.