36 nurses from same unit expecting in 2019 at KC hospital
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSNT) – From caring for others to caring for their own, nurses in the Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City are celebrating a massive baby boom.
There are more than a dozen new kids on the block at the ICU Nursery but all from the nurses who work there.
“We’ve never done this before but we can only assume it’s a record,” said Julie Lang, one of the nurses who had a baby in 2019.
She had her son Rhodes on March 12 and is one of 36 nurses at the same time, in the same unit, in the same building who will deliver a newborn this year.
This baby boom has made staffing more of a challenge as they have to coordinate 36 maternity leaves.
About 10% of the NICU nurses will be gone this year, but they said it has actually improved patient care as some reported feel more empathetic and connected to the parents of the babies they care for.
To celebrate, they took a large group photo, digitally adding five moms who couldn’t make it.
So far 20 babies have arrived, 18 boys and two girls. There are still 16 more deliveries expected this year.