One of the most compassionate nurses I know
Lauren Hamilton, BSN, RN, is the recipient of the 2025 Nursing Excellence Award: Compassion
Lauren has been a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for the past three years. She was the first orientee I ever had and although I trained her initially, I feel like I am now learning from her. Lauren has had such a positive impact not only on the patients and families that she treats but as a role model for other nurses. She knowledgably advocates for her patients and builds a wonderful and trusting rapport with their families.
Currently, we have a very complex baby on our unit and circumstances have led to the need for consistent nursing care. Lauren is one of the few nurses who volunteered to primarily care for this baby. She knows this baby's history thoroughly; she is an integral part in the brainstorming process that is creating a plan for this unique patient. She consistently asks probing questions to learn more about this baby and their issues. Her desire for knowledge to better serve her patients rubs off on everyone around her.
Lauren is not only an amazing bedside nurse, but she is also the lead nurse of one of the committees that participates with the Vermont Oxford Network Collaborative, “All Care is Brain Care.” She has been an active member within the committee to help promote family integrated care.
One of the projects that Lauren has worked on is an admission packet that will be given to families to provide important information about the NICU and resources available to them.
Lastly, Lauren's compassion for the babies in her care shines through. While this may seem like a little thing, it is so meaningful to families. She often makes crafts using a baby's footprints and/or handprints to celebrate various milestones during a baby’s stay. Many nurses will take the time to make a little craft for the baby's family, but Lauren goes above by making it personal. For example, she once made a Chick-fil-A craft for a family because the mom would always call the baby her little nugget. On one of our crazy days, I even saw her make a sentimental birthday card for a mom from the baby in the last ten minutes of our shift. From my perspective, making a craft for a family is already something extra, but making it personal and using every minute of your time to do something for someone else is true compassion.
I truly believe that Lauren is one of the most compassionate, knowledgeable, and kind nurses I have met. She advocates for her patients and includes families as team members in the plan of care. The examples above are only a snapshot of the amazing work Lauren does.
