#Val­ues­Su­per­Stars: Onslow Memo­r­i­al Hos­pi­tal Nursery/​NICU Night Shift Nurses

Onslow Memorial Hospital Nursery/NICU Night Shift Nurses - One Great Team dedicated to our tiniest patients

Even though expectant parents are given a due date, we all know that baby's arrival time can be a bit unpredictable. It's hard to know if it will happen in the middle of the night, a quiet afternoon or an early morning. It's important for parents to feel confident that whenever their new baby decides to come into this world, a team of dedicated hospital staff will be waiting to care for them.

This is certainly the case with the Nursery/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) night shift team at Onslow Memorial Hospital, a UNC Health affiliate hospital located Jacksonville, NC. Each night from 7 p.m.–7 a.m., a team of five nurses is dedicated to caring for the tiniest patients.

"I've seen quite a few nurses save the lives of newborns since I've been at Onslow Memorial Hospital. However, on two recent occasions, I feel that these teams saved the lives of babies under extreme circumstances," shares Lorene Ingle, CNA, who has been working as an overnight certified nursing assistant in the Nursery/NICU at Onslow Memorial Hospital since April 2021.

"I watched as these teams, along with the help of one labor and delivery nurse, jumped in to help to do whatever was necessary – all while teaching each other and myself, at the same time," continued Lorene with tears in her eyes. "Not only were they teaching knowledge, they were teaching compassion. One nurse jumping in […] when another was beat from performing other life saving measures. We have a few amazing traveling nurses, some new extraordinary nurses and some very experienced nurses. During these two occasions, these teams functioned as equals focusing only on the baby. I feel very privileged to work and learn from the night shift team."

A true example of One Great Team, the night shift Nursery/NICU team at Onslow Memorial Hospital motivates each other, fueling the extraordinary care they provide.

"Night shift comes together in a special way. The compassion demonstrated by this group is like no other I have experienced in my travels," shares Angela Lafferty, a traveling nurse on the team. "Coming to work with an amazing group of nurses is motivation. Knowing that even if we are in a challenging situation, the group will pull together and work hard to create positive patient outcomes. It is more than a job, we are a family and we are working together to positively affect our community."

"First and foremost, we all love what we do and caring for our tiny patients is truly rewarding. This passion to care for others translates into our team's motivation to help not only our patients and families, but also each other," added another night shift Nursery/NICU teammate Danielle Peterson.

Another common thread throughout the team is the support they provide for newer teammates.

"As we complete our nightly tasks there is time to teach and learn from and with each other. This is not a common occurrence in many facilities," explains Angela.

"The things that I'm learning and the things that they are willing to teach me are amazing," adds Lorene.

"As a newer member of the team, everyone has been friendly, helpful and willing to answer questions no matter how busy they are. I hope as our team continues to grow, we are always willing to teach and help new members feel welcome," continues Danielle.

It is easy to overlook the teams that care for patients in the long overnight hours, but exceptional care is waiting for you, whenever you need it at Onslow Memorial Hospital.

"I just want the community to see how amazing these nurses are. To know that their babies are safe, are going to be well cared for, loved and treated like one of the nurses' children," Lorene says. "Everyone works so hard, Onslow Memorial Hospital is really amazing."

Thank you night shift Nursery/NICU team at Onslow Memorial Hospital, for being UNC Health #ValuesSuperStars and part of our One Great Team.