August 2026 Honoree
Nicole Aguerriberry, RN
I shared a patient with Nicole during their short but devastating stay while on the PICU. This family was going through an unimaginable nightmare, and in a few short days following their three-year-old's freak accident, they had to make the horrific decision to compassionately withdraw care.
Every day in that room felt like a funeral. As healthcare professionals, we don't always sit in that traumatic space while families decide what flowers they want around their child's hospital bed or which of their favorite trucks will go down with him to his organ donation. Nicole sat in that space with this family, with these conversations, and handled that child and family in the most tender way.
She knew the day they withdrew care would be impossibly difficult for them, and picked up a shift to be a familiar and trusting face for them on that day. This patient was intubated, and she went above and beyond to honor this little life and the activities that were most meaningful to him, by arranging for and bringing him out to the Buerger Garden to share one last afternoon in the garden with his family, where he loved to plant flowers with his grandmother and where his parents felt he thrived best - playing in the dirt.
She worked with OT to ensure that the family was able to have opportunities to hold their child, and held space for difficult decision-making with the utmost love you can imagine. In her physical care for this patient, she handled him beautifully and with so much love.
While no one would want to imagine what being in that space is like, I can't imagine what their experience would have been like without Nicole's care. She was a shining example of what makes me most proud to work at CHOP. Anyone would be lucky to have her love and care in our hospital and witnessing even just one profound example of this, makes me feel she is worthy of this nomination.
Thank you for allowing me to share my respect and admiration for Nicole It's an honor to work alongside her in the brightest and darkest hours.
Every day in that room felt like a funeral. As healthcare professionals, we don't always sit in that traumatic space while families decide what flowers they want around their child's hospital bed or which of their favorite trucks will go down with him to his organ donation. Nicole sat in that space with this family, with these conversations, and handled that child and family in the most tender way.
She knew the day they withdrew care would be impossibly difficult for them, and picked up a shift to be a familiar and trusting face for them on that day. This patient was intubated, and she went above and beyond to honor this little life and the activities that were most meaningful to him, by arranging for and bringing him out to the Buerger Garden to share one last afternoon in the garden with his family, where he loved to plant flowers with his grandmother and where his parents felt he thrived best - playing in the dirt.
She worked with OT to ensure that the family was able to have opportunities to hold their child, and held space for difficult decision-making with the utmost love you can imagine. In her physical care for this patient, she handled him beautifully and with so much love.
While no one would want to imagine what being in that space is like, I can't imagine what their experience would have been like without Nicole's care. She was a shining example of what makes me most proud to work at CHOP. Anyone would be lucky to have her love and care in our hospital and witnessing even just one profound example of this, makes me feel she is worthy of this nomination.
Thank you for allowing me to share my respect and admiration for Nicole It's an honor to work alongside her in the brightest and darkest hours.
Thank you, Nicole, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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