Delivering Heartfelt Care in ‘One of the Scariest Places’ for Parents

Kelsey Wade, RN, loves to give babies like Olivia a real spa-day experience, complete with soft music and sweet-smelling soap. After a relaxing bath, she chooses a special blanket, bow and outfit with matching socks from the many she has stocked in her work locker. Then it’s time for the family to start snapping pictures.

While it sounds like Kelsey works in a salon, she hones her craft of compassion in a place where many parents enter scared and with many unknowns: The Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Children’s Health.

“In 2018, when Olivia arrived at the CVICU, she was the sickest of the sick with a heart condition that ultimately required a heart transplant,” Kelsey said. “This tiny infant had never worn anything but a hospital-issued swaddle, and I wanted her parents to see her all dressed up and accessorized, which is what they likely would have been doing if she was a healthy newborn at home. Preparing babies for family photoshoots isn’t something that’s part of my job description, but it makes my heart happy and brings so much joy to their parents.”

Finding joy in “firsts” at the ICU
Kelsey explained that people with healthy babies might not realize the joy that comes when parents with hospitalized newborns are able to do simple things – like dress their child for the first time because the baby finally got their breathing tube out, or help their infant sit up because the surgical opening in their chest was at a point that it could be closed. 

“Olivia’s parents love that little girl so much and they were so present with her. They read to her all the time and their faith was really strong, too. Olivia’s mom wrote scriptures on the windows of the hospital room,” Kelsey shared.      

While Olivia was in her care, Kelsey worked hand-in-hand with the Children’s Health physical, occupational and feeding therapists and child life specialists to help Olivia get strong enough so her parents could participate in many important firsts — holding and snuggling, feeding, changing diapers, dressing, lying on the play mat, riding in the stroller, going outside and more. 

Kelsey added, “We celebrated every first and there was never a dry eye in the room.” 

Frontline eyes and ears
Kelsey, a 10-year nursing veteran, thrives on a specific way of delivering care where she signs up to be part of care teams for patients like Olivia. It’s a model that gives nurses the choice to forge strong relationships with one or two patient-families who are expected to have prolonged hospital stays. She said being able to sign up to be on care teams is the reason she enjoys her job so much, because it allows her to work exclusively with the same patient-families as long as they’re on the unit. 

"I fell in love with Olivia and her family,” Kelsey said. “I loved playing a big part in her journey — watching her go from being gravely ill and then getting her heart transplant and making it out of the hospital in four months.”

For Olivia’s parents, having Kelsey by their side as a regular to help feed, give medications and perform head-to-toe assessments of their daughter multiple times a day built a deep sense of trust and comfort. 

Jacquie, Olivia’s mom, said that Kelsey’s humor, patience, love and kindness were critical at such a dark time in their lives. And, Kelsey’s willingness to lend an ear and not only advocate for, but also educate them so they had the right tools and questions to ask helped them navigate the unfamiliar world of the ICU.

Kelsey described critical care nurses as the frontline eyes and ears for seriously ill newborns like Olivia.

“If something's happening — especially if an infant takes a downturn — we’re the first ones to identify the crash, begin resuscitations and escalate, as needed. And we’re not just taking care of the baby, we’re helping the family cope as well.”

Value and purpose
Kelsey explained that CVICU nurses can choose whether they want to join a care team. (One-third of patients have extended stays that warrant the need for such a team.) Some nurses prefer to work with patients and families who have short ICU stays because it’s easier not to get too attached.

“I understand that way of coping,” Kelsey said. “It can be mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. For me, taking care of a very sick infant like Olivia really fills my cup, because I’m making deep connections with the family and impacting the life of a medically fragile child.”

To cope in the ICU environment, Kelsey shared she gets a lot of love and support from her “work family” who are some of her best friends. She also said she feels deeply valued by the range of experts that make up the critical care teams.           

“Just like all the kiddos I care for, Olivia gave me a strong sense of purpose and confidence when I’d give my input to the team, because I knew her and her parents like the back of my hand.”   

Pouring her heart into her days
After nursing school, Kelsey did something totally out of character: She took a risk, put all her eggs in one basket and applied for only one job, which was at The Heart Center’s CVICU.

“I knew in my heart this was the job for me and I also knew I wouldn’t be happy taking a fallback job,” she remembered. “A few people discouraged me because it’s very difficult to get into pediatrics and super competitive to be hired into the ICU setting, especially for a new nurse.”

When she received the job offer of her dreams, Kelsey said she was over the moon. Today, she says she can’t imagine leaving Children’s Health to do anything else. And now, as a mom, she said the care she delivers at the ICU is that much more compassionate, because it reflects how she’d like her 1- and 3-year-old daughters treated.

One of her favorite things is when families like Olivia’s come back to the CVICU to visit. 

“I think about all the setbacks Olivia had. And now to meet her again and see all the progress she’s made and the milestones she’s met in five short years. It’s awesome. Patients like her keep me coming back and pouring my entire heart into my days on the CVICU.”