Lisa James is the hardest-working educator I know. She is the NICU educator for the Richmond Market. At the end of 2024, one of her hospital's NICUs experienced an unimaginable event that caused it to be temporarily shut down. She was required to sit in on meetings, assist leadership with developing a plan to ensure the NICU could reopen as quickly as possible, and she worked tirelessly every day to develop and implement education for the staff, not only in the NICU but also in other areas where it was required. She organized skills events so the staff could complete required education in person and when staff was discouraged and feeling overwhelmed, she bought small gifts of appreciation (mud masks, eye masks, lotion, fun badge reels, candy, and more) out of her own pocket to hand out to the them to try to show them appreciation and offer support and encouragement. She went above and beyond to ensure the health and safety of our precious littlest patients as well as our amazing staff of NICU nurses. They couldn't have made it through without her leadership, guidance, and compassion. Richmond market is lucky to have such a dedicated educator serving our NICU staff, and no one is more deserving of this amazing recognition. She exemplifies HCA's mission, vision, and values every single day. 

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There was an unfortunate series of events that occurred at a hospital within our Market, and it was devastating on so many levels. Lisa, powering through the emotional considerations of the situation, gathered all of her expertise to create and provide education within a very quick turnaround, partnering with several other departments and teams to ensure that high-quality and safe care is what we teach our nurses and provide our patients. This process took place over the course of several months, not just a one-time session. As an educator, Lisa wore many hats, maneuvering through staff who came to her for education and debriefing. She collaborated with other teams within the hospital to develop and deliver education, ensuring that all staff received comprehensive training. She had to meet with corporate education, create videos, PowerPoints, games, HealthStream assignments, and follow up on any loose ends. Lisa very rarely asked for help or any accommodations while she was working through this tough time. She still rounded on her units and checked in with her other folks, and also still worked on the weekends as a NICU nurse! This experience, although devastating in relation to the situation, effectively demonstrated Lisa’s passion for NICU education and her genuine desire to teach quality, safe, patient care. Lisa is certainly an expert in the NICU, and despite all that has come her way, she still volunteers to help others and participates in expanding her own knowledge, such as attending classes or conferences. She has been instrumental in leading change at the facility by teaching teams to provide the safest, evidence-based practice, aligning with clinical practice guidelines. 

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Lisa goes all out to ensure the NICU nurses at the multiple facilities here in Richmond are well educated!  She recently did a "Small Baby Series" of educational videos that could be attended online.  She was required to be there and set up each video as well as ask the questions after each session to ensure we understood the material.  This went on every Monday for many weeks.  She is also so receptive to suggestions in areas where we might need further or renewed information in order to maintain the high standards we expect of our unit and nurses.