Concerned about fate of NICU family
I recently learned that six nurses from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital had been laid off. While I fully understand my opinion is unlikely to change this erroneous decision; I sincerely hope this letter does portray a sense of the loss, a sense of what the NICU gave to me and my family.
Almost nine years ago, I delivered a baby girl. Born 3½ weeks early, there were no reasons to be concerned. However, despite our valid attempts to feed her, our Hannah was having a difficult time keeping her formula down and she was brought into the NICU for observation.
It was here the nurses noticed she had a distended stomach and recommended she be transported to Yale for a possible surgery. And so, just like that, barely a day after our Hannah was born; our life was turned upside down. Yet, the nurses in the NICU did all they could to keep us calm and talk us through the possible scenarios. I was scared, but even as the nurses monitored Hannah and did their job medically, they kept a watchful eye over my husband and me. And even as the nurse arrived from Yale to take our Hannah for transport, the NICU nurses stood with me. They held me up and provided me with strength. And it was their faces I saw last, their bodies I leaned into for a hug.
(On a side note, Hannah did require surgery at Yale, but no blockage was found and all tests for Cystic Fibrosis and Hurshsprung’s Disease came back negative. She did stay in the NICU at Yale for a couple of weeks for weight gain and feeding purposes.)
Five years later, I was pregnant again, but this time my water broke two months early. My obstetrics and gynaecology doctor was amazing, but it was the team of doctors, advanced practice registered nurses, and other nurses from the NICU who I remember the most in the delivery room. They were professional and caring and I can vividly recall the lead nurse gently placing my new daughter on my belly before taking her away for tests and such.
Thankfully, our Emmaline was strong and presented no health issues. But she was born at just 4-pounds, 11-ounces, so she did require a stay in the NICU to help with weight gain. Over the next month, our Emmaline received tremendous care; so much more than medical attention and daily feedings. There was the nurse who so delicately tied a bow in her hair. Another nurse who set up a drawing station for Hannah so she felt comfortable when she came to visit. There was also a nurse who made up signs and hung them on Emmaline’s bed when she reached a milestone.
And then there was the nurse who told me it was OK to stop trying to pump after I was having a hard time producing breastmilk — that I was braver than she, that I had tried really hard, that I was a loving mom.
But it was more than individual nurses, it was all the staff — all of them who knew Hannah’s name and played with her, who asked my husband how his baseball game went when he came to visit late at night, still in his uniform. All of them who sat bedside with me. All of them who became my friends and joined my family.
Because that’s what the NICU really is, an extension of our family, medically trained professionals who carry compassion and spread love.
And so, while management reflects upon this decision to decrease staff and to minimize care to the most vulnerable of patients (all of which I’m sure is money driven), I hope this email leaves you questioning your own compassion and wondering what the true impact will be.
Katie Hallisey is the proud parent of two former Lawrence + Memorial NICU “graduates.” She lives in New London and sent this letter to executives and the Board of Directors at the hospital.
Editor’s note: L+M spokesman Mike O’Farrell told The Day that staffing was reduced to adjust to a reduction both in the number of patients needing NICU care and in severe cases. Nurses leaving the unit will have the chance to fill other positions, he said, and the NICU will remain open with staffing sufficent to meet demand.
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