Hard work and dedication to Labor and Delivery would be reason enough to nominate Charlotte Hicks for a The DAISY nursing award as she has been with the organization and labor and delivery since 1976. She has been and continues to be an incredible bedside nurse with a gentle soul but assertive spirit when it comes to advocating for her patients.
Patients are truly blessed to have Char caring for them during their birthing experience and the hundreds of cards and gifts she has received confirms their gratitude. It is however; Char’s care given to those babies that do not survive that compels me to nominate her for the DAISY award.
The glory of Nursing in Labor and Delivery comes from the beautiful, healthy, and perfect baby born without complication; seldom do we talk of the other, difficult side of working labor and delivery; that is dealing with stillborn and miscarriage of babies. Many outside of labor and delivery would never know that it is the babies that do not survive that receive the most care from us as L & D nurses. You see when it is determined that a baby has died in utero, arrangements are made for delivery, sometimes a vaginal delivery sometimes via cesarean section. Unlike in a situation with a live baby, nursery does not attend the delivery. The labor and delivery nurse cares for the baby, bathing, dressing, taking pictures, making footprints, helping the family arrange for a funeral, and helping the family cope. All of this while trying to make sense within one’s self of the situation.
Charlotte has been the Bereavement Coordinator for Perinatal Bereavement here at Allegiance for the past year; a position that she volunteered to fill. In that time she has had a hand in caring for all of the losses that our patients and staff have endured. She has established procedures and streamlined the process for even the tiniest of babies, handling each case with tender compassion, as though each patient were a close family member. She has spent countless hours overhauling a closet into a beautiful room to house all of the Bereavement materials. Charlotte personally contacts all of the parents who have experienced loss to inform of picture arrivals, answer questions about funeral arrangements, and invites all to the yearly memorial “A Walk to Remember”. Charlotte has also recently inserviced the Emergency Room Staff regarding those patients who experience a loss in the E.R.
One example of Char advocating for her patient and their family happened on her day off. Char was walking through the unit and heard that there was a patient with a 35 week stillborn. This patient came from Bixby Hospital where she had been told that they were unable to find a heartbeat. The patient arrived at Allegiance where her worst fear was confirmed that her baby was no longer alive. Char took the time to stop and see the patient, explaining to her that she would be back the following day. When Char discovered that the patient would not be able to deliver the baby by C-Section for a day and a half, she advocated for the patient, admitted the patient herself, and arranged for it to take place much sooner, making this heart wrenching situation minimally tolerable for the patient and her family.
Charlotte is probably the most humble person I know, and would say that she is no more deserving than any of the other nurse is. I know as I leave at night and see her making sure everything is just right with her patients, staying over to chart because she has been at the bedside, knowing that her husband is waiting to pick her up, I know that she optimizes the picture of nursing as I know it and as it should be. I feel honored to have had the privilege to work alongside such a precious gem.