May 2014
Maureen
Laighold
,
RN IV
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Memorial Hospital West
Pembroke Pines
,
FL
United States
When you, as a parent, have your worst nightmare come true by having your newborn admitted to the NICU, your nurse is right there to comfort you, hug you, cry with you, and support you. That is Maureen.
When you need someone to explain what is happening to your baby, she sits down with you at eye level, holds your hand and talks to you like you were family and answers every question you have. That is Maureen.
When you need help with breastfeeding, pumping, or encouragement because you have no milk to provide, Maureen is right there to give her never ending support.
When you are the new scared student nurse who has been just dropped off to the NICU for the first time by her instructor, who takes you under her wing and teaches you all about the NICU and encourages your education? That would be Maureen.
Maureen joined the MHW team before the hospital opened it's doors in 1992 and has been an integral part of the MHW family ever since. The NICU is like her second family and she cares for it and all her coworkers as if they were her actual family. She was instrumental in turning a 1-bed area in the NBN to our now, 20-bed NlCU. She was a Magnet Champion who worked tirelessly to make the Magnet dream come true, if only for a short time.
Maureen realized that parents needed an outlet to express their feelings of having their baby admitted to the NICU. She turned the idea of providing a place for parents to write down their feelings, dreams, and emotions for their newborn into an individualized Journal that we start for each baby upon admission including pictures that we take in the unit. Maureen also made that idea to purchase a camera and photo printer for the unit a reality.
Having taken part in identifying a safety issue with expressed breast milk identification and storage, Maureen devised a safe and effective means of storing breast milk in the NICU freezer where each baby's milk is safely separated from other milk. The Joint Commission inspectors were very impressed and encouraged the unit to write it up as a Best Practice initiative.
Maureen is an active member of the Patient Satisfaction Team for the NICU. Along with the other team members, she helps to seek ways to make the NICU experience a more positive one for families.
It is so difficult to put into words the type of nurse Maureen is without seeing her in action. She is tireless. She is the first one to offer help to coworkers. She is
always one you want on your team in a time of crisis. Many days she sacrifices her
lunch break to help a coworker or sit with families to support them just by being present. She knows every family by name. She will get a phone call from a former patient's family many months or even years later and she will still know them by name!
Her favorite function is the NICU Reunion Picnics, for which she is the Chairperson. She truly enjoys and savors every minute of the planning and especially the picnic itself. She spends the entire afternoon hugging, kissing, and dancing with the babies - no matter how grown up they have become.
She experiences the sheer joy of having been a part of their lives! The families truly
appreciate her genuine nature and love her to death. Her name is mentioned on over
95% of the returned surveys as one of the best parts of their NICU experience.
Maureen not only exemplifies every aspect of C.A.R.E., she is a role model and
champion for her coworkers as well. I recently obtained my MSN. I truly credit this
accomplishment to the incredible amount of support and encouragement I received from Maureen. She was my muse and my mentor. Although Maureen feels insecure about not having "letters" after her name, I want to let her know that there is no amount of education that can teach what she brings to nursing. Letters after your name isn't as important as what is inside. Maureen is the epitome of what every nurse should be and I am so very proud to not only call her a MHW nurse and coworker, but "my friend"!
When you need someone to explain what is happening to your baby, she sits down with you at eye level, holds your hand and talks to you like you were family and answers every question you have. That is Maureen.
When you need help with breastfeeding, pumping, or encouragement because you have no milk to provide, Maureen is right there to give her never ending support.
When you are the new scared student nurse who has been just dropped off to the NICU for the first time by her instructor, who takes you under her wing and teaches you all about the NICU and encourages your education? That would be Maureen.
Maureen joined the MHW team before the hospital opened it's doors in 1992 and has been an integral part of the MHW family ever since. The NICU is like her second family and she cares for it and all her coworkers as if they were her actual family. She was instrumental in turning a 1-bed area in the NBN to our now, 20-bed NlCU. She was a Magnet Champion who worked tirelessly to make the Magnet dream come true, if only for a short time.
Maureen realized that parents needed an outlet to express their feelings of having their baby admitted to the NICU. She turned the idea of providing a place for parents to write down their feelings, dreams, and emotions for their newborn into an individualized Journal that we start for each baby upon admission including pictures that we take in the unit. Maureen also made that idea to purchase a camera and photo printer for the unit a reality.
Having taken part in identifying a safety issue with expressed breast milk identification and storage, Maureen devised a safe and effective means of storing breast milk in the NICU freezer where each baby's milk is safely separated from other milk. The Joint Commission inspectors were very impressed and encouraged the unit to write it up as a Best Practice initiative.
Maureen is an active member of the Patient Satisfaction Team for the NICU. Along with the other team members, she helps to seek ways to make the NICU experience a more positive one for families.
It is so difficult to put into words the type of nurse Maureen is without seeing her in action. She is tireless. She is the first one to offer help to coworkers. She is
always one you want on your team in a time of crisis. Many days she sacrifices her
lunch break to help a coworker or sit with families to support them just by being present. She knows every family by name. She will get a phone call from a former patient's family many months or even years later and she will still know them by name!
Her favorite function is the NICU Reunion Picnics, for which she is the Chairperson. She truly enjoys and savors every minute of the planning and especially the picnic itself. She spends the entire afternoon hugging, kissing, and dancing with the babies - no matter how grown up they have become.
She experiences the sheer joy of having been a part of their lives! The families truly
appreciate her genuine nature and love her to death. Her name is mentioned on over
95% of the returned surveys as one of the best parts of their NICU experience.
Maureen not only exemplifies every aspect of C.A.R.E., she is a role model and
champion for her coworkers as well. I recently obtained my MSN. I truly credit this
accomplishment to the incredible amount of support and encouragement I received from Maureen. She was my muse and my mentor. Although Maureen feels insecure about not having "letters" after her name, I want to let her know that there is no amount of education that can teach what she brings to nursing. Letters after your name isn't as important as what is inside. Maureen is the epitome of what every nurse should be and I am so very proud to not only call her a MHW nurse and coworker, but "my friend"!