The Santa Monica Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nursing team is comprised of 50 nurses and care partners who provide exemplary care to the health system's most vulnerable patients. With a focus on UCLA Health's mission to deliver leading-edge patient care and vision to heal humankind, the NICU nursing team consistently creates a holistic patient care environment and uses evidence-based practice to ensure patient safety. For example, knowing that central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the NICU patient population, the NICU nursing team holds themselves accountable for robust adherence to best practices and policies regarding line insertion and maintenance. In December 2023, the NICU achieved five consecutive years without a central line-associated bloodstream infection, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to patient safety and sustained zero harm. The NICU nursing team has also achieved sustained periods of zero harm for two years or longer in multiple other patient outcome metrics, which has resulted in the NICU being named a top-performing NICU in the state by the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative in 2022 and 2023. The NICU nursing team engages in efforts to foster teamwork and a healthy work environment, as evidenced by an ongoing staff wellness initiative and unit-based recognition programs such as the Employee Spotlight. This team truly cares about one another and the patients and families they serve. The NICU has received accolades, including a Beacon Gold designation from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for Patient Experience due to the exceptional care provided by this team. At the core of this care is a deep love for the nursing team's work and a collective philosophy to treat the patient and family as their own. The word compassionate feels inadequate to describe the ways in which the NICU nursing team lifts and holds their patients and families during a time of crisis, all while providing complex care in an ICU environment.

On a recent patient satisfaction survey, a parent wrote: "Thank you for everything and for saving our baby! The NICU team is an extremely special group. They restored my faith in humanity! They were a super professional, amazing team. It's hard to explain how extremely pleased we were by this team's supreme care." This statement is emblematic of the therapeutic relationships the NICU nursing team establishes with patients and families and the team's understanding that every moment and every interaction is an opportunity to connect and make a difference. This team represents the very best of our organization.