A good birth!

A lovely letter about our staff from a new mother:

In Wikipedia, a nurse is defined as a healthcare professional focused on the detail-oriented care of individuals, families, and communities in attaining, maintaining, and recovering optimal health and functioning. While that may be true by definition, my nurses at BIDMC for my stay with my new son Julian from March 26 to 28 were so much more than that.

My labor and delivery nurse was Cheryl Sirois. She was an extremely friendly and outgoing woman, and I knew right away that I was going to enjoy my delivery and have no worries. She never seemed distracted or left me alone for long periods of time. Her 9 years of labor and delivery experience showed when she spoke up on my behalf and informed the Anesthesia team that I would prefer not to have a student administer my epidural. I had had a bad experience with one of my other deliveries and even though I had agreed early on for a student to give me the medication (I was having a bad contraction at the time!) I had changed my mind, yet was to nervous to speak up. Cheryl said no worries and informed the team my wishes to have the chief resident administer the epidural/spinal tap. I am so grateful for Cheryl's advocacy. I had a great pain free birth.

I, as well as my newborn son, experienced superior care while staying in room 767. My recovery was difficult in the early hours as I experienced heavy bleeding and the passing of large clots over my first night. Bonnie Biederman was my overnight nurse during this alarming night. She was calm and collected, friendly and efficient. I was scared at the thought of having to have an internal to check for clots. She made me feel secure and was right there through it all as I squeezed her hand, then her elbow and then her whole entire arm! I was thankful to have an experienced nurse for my overnight care that night. She had a busy night with many other patients but always managed to check in and make sure I had all that I needed. I am very lucky to have had her during that traumatic time.

My next morning, I was even more blessed to have the care of Suzanne Sweeney. What a breath of fresh air she is and the perfect nurse to have after a horrible and scary evening before. She was kind and funny, always laughing and friendly. After having such a rough night, she was just what I needed! I happened to pass another large clot while she was on duty and became worried. She calmed my fears and said it was okay and there was no concern. She was always there to check in on my needs and would return with supplies and a smile. She mentioned more than once to me that she loves her job, and I believed her! This woman loves what she does and it shows.

Suzanne continued to care for me the following day. How lucky was I to have her two days in a row! She has a special gift with handling newborns. Watching her talk with my son Julian was heartwarming. He responded to her immediately. She has a terrific bedside manner and I wish everyone that comes through Beth Israel Deaconess for labor and delivery could experience even a sliver of Suzanne's care!

You are lucky to have these professional women on your team. Please know that their care was exceptional. As stated above, a nurse is defined as a professional focused on the detail-oriented care of individuals, families, and communities in attaining, maintaining, and recovering optimal health and functioning. While these women certainly fulfill this definition, they all went above and beyond their job requirements and made my stay at Beth Israel Deaconess comfortable, fun, reassuring and stress-free.

Thank you, Beth Israel Deaconess, for hiring such a top notch team!