Maddie Bayer
July 2026
Maddie
Bayer
,
BSN, RN
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital
St. Louis
,
MO
United States
In all of our years and hospitalizations, very few nurses have cared for him in that manner. It brought such comfort and peace to us as parents.
My son was a patient in the PICU at Cardinal Glennon.
Every doctor, nurse, environmental services worker, cafeteria worker, and other staff member we encountered was wonderful, but one nurse truly stood out from the rest. Her name is Maddie.
My son has a chromosome abnormality and has been medically complex since he was just a few weeks old. He has been hospitalized more times than I can count, and many of those stays have been at Cardinal Glennon. Most recently, he was transported by a Cardinal Glennon transport team via ambulance from our local hospital to the PICU at Cardinal Glennon. That team went above and beyond as well, but that is a different story.
Over the years, my son has had hundreds of nurses care for him, and the vast majority have provided professional, compassionate care. However, Maddie truly stood apart. She was thorough, kind, attentive, and meticulous in every aspect of his care. Just as importantly, she cared for us as parents.
It was Mother’s Day, and my husband and I did not want to miss morning rounds, so we chose not to leave the unit to get breakfast. Maddie encouraged us to go, reassuring us that if the team came to round while we were gone, she would ask them to see another patient first and then return so we could be present. She said, “You go and have your Mother’s Day breakfast, and don’t rush. We will be fine here.”
It may seem like a small gesture, but on a day when no parent wants their child to be hospitalized, her empathy and kindness meant more than she could know.
As Maddie cared for our son during his bath, she went beyond simply completing a task. She gently washed his hair and cared for him with dignity, compassion, and respect. He is nonverbal and wheelchair dependent, but Maddie saw beyond all of that and treated him in a way that honored his humanity and dignity. In all of our years and hospitalizations, very few nurses have cared for him in that manner. It brought such comfort and peace to us as parents.
I would like to recognize Maddie because her compassion, professionalism, attentiveness, and extraordinary patient-centered care embody the very best of nursing.
I have worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner for 29 years and was a bedside RN for 6 years prior to that. Nurses like Maddie are rare, and the care she provided exemplifies what all of us in healthcare should strive to be.
Every doctor, nurse, environmental services worker, cafeteria worker, and other staff member we encountered was wonderful, but one nurse truly stood out from the rest. Her name is Maddie.
My son has a chromosome abnormality and has been medically complex since he was just a few weeks old. He has been hospitalized more times than I can count, and many of those stays have been at Cardinal Glennon. Most recently, he was transported by a Cardinal Glennon transport team via ambulance from our local hospital to the PICU at Cardinal Glennon. That team went above and beyond as well, but that is a different story.
Over the years, my son has had hundreds of nurses care for him, and the vast majority have provided professional, compassionate care. However, Maddie truly stood apart. She was thorough, kind, attentive, and meticulous in every aspect of his care. Just as importantly, she cared for us as parents.
It was Mother’s Day, and my husband and I did not want to miss morning rounds, so we chose not to leave the unit to get breakfast. Maddie encouraged us to go, reassuring us that if the team came to round while we were gone, she would ask them to see another patient first and then return so we could be present. She said, “You go and have your Mother’s Day breakfast, and don’t rush. We will be fine here.”
It may seem like a small gesture, but on a day when no parent wants their child to be hospitalized, her empathy and kindness meant more than she could know.
As Maddie cared for our son during his bath, she went beyond simply completing a task. She gently washed his hair and cared for him with dignity, compassion, and respect. He is nonverbal and wheelchair dependent, but Maddie saw beyond all of that and treated him in a way that honored his humanity and dignity. In all of our years and hospitalizations, very few nurses have cared for him in that manner. It brought such comfort and peace to us as parents.
I would like to recognize Maddie because her compassion, professionalism, attentiveness, and extraordinary patient-centered care embody the very best of nursing.
I have worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner for 29 years and was a bedside RN for 6 years prior to that. Nurses like Maddie are rare, and the care she provided exemplifies what all of us in healthcare should strive to be.