Search

close   X

stories

our very best

nursing care

"you give us your world, we can do nothing but give you our best."

This is the theme of our latest video highlighting the nursing care provided here at Dayton Children's. Every person in this video is a real nurse and a real patient family! Check out the video and read below to learn more about the "stars" of the video and why they love their nurses and why the nurses love working with kids!

nursing care at dayton childrens

our very best

We are experts, advocates, educators, protectors, healers, and even entertainers.

scene: birthday party

  • Patient name: Luke Bemus
  • Patient diagnosis: Cystic Fibrosis, Celiac disease, portal hypertension liver disease
  • What his family loves about Luke’s nurses: They go above and beyond. They go out of their way to make Luke feel special. They make him feel like he is the only kid in the hospital! You can tell when someone loves their job and the nurses at Dayton Children’s truly love their job and it spills over to the patients and the families.
  • Nurse name: Casey Hookfin, RN
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 18 months
  • Unit: 3West
  • What they love about their job: I love cystic fibrosis patients. I have always been interested in the genetic and biological aspects of CF and enjoy having the chance to work with kids like Luke. Luke is crazy! Our personalities get along really well and we can joke around all day. I can never out do him with his joke or how creative he is!

scene: running up the hill

  • Patient name: Vannessa Goewert
  • Patient diagnosis: Scoliosis
  • What they love about their nurses: The nurses are really caring. Since they deal with kids every day they are really good at interacting with us!
  • Nurse name: Dane Brinley
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 4 years
  • Unit: PICU
  • Why he became a pediatric nurse: I like working with kids’ way better than adults. They are a lot more fun to interact with every day!

scene: reading in the room and tent

  • Patient name: Emma Becker
  • Patient diagnosis: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
  • What they love about their nurse: “I like Erica because she’s weird and I’m weird and we just get along,” says Emma.



    “Erica is on top of everything,” says Mark Becker, Emma’s dad. “She always has everything under control without looking like she has to try. She comforts Emma during every procedure so at the end we remember her and not the painful procedure. Erica is great with Emma because they are feisty together!”
  • Nurse name: Erica Yanney
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 6 years
  • Unit: Almost Home
  • What they love about their job: The best part of my job is making what could be a very scary experience of being in the hospital something that kids want to share with their friends. I spent a weekend in this hospital when I was 12 years old, and I remember the nurses making all the difference in my patient experience. My goal as a nurse is for the child and their family to know that they are truly cared about on a human level.

scene: concerned parents in Kitchen/PICU

  • Family name: Rebecca and Javan Conley
  • Patient diagnosis: The Conley’s son Ethan came to Dayton Children’s in January 2010 and was diagnosed with an extremely rare virus called viral myositis with rhabdomyolysis. Ethan spent 31 days at Dayton Children’s. During this time he was unable to walk and had to be placed on dialysis. He spent 19 of those days in the pediatric intensive care unit fighting for his life.
  • What they love about their nurse: As parents of a critically ill child, we quickly and easily bonded with the wonderful nurses at Dayton Children's. I can remember when we would see Karen walking into the PICU room for Ethan's Dialysis treatments, a sense of peace would come over us, because weknew, she would care for Ethan as if he were her own. We felt she was an extension of God's hands. You could see in her eyes and in her actions that she was hoping he would recover and heal, as much as we were! She would smile and humbly say, "I'm just doing my job" :)
  • Nurse name: Karen Davis
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 16 years
  • Unit: PICU
  • What they love about their job: I try to treat every patient and family how I would want my own kids and grandkids to be treated. I love my job because of the interactions that I have with the patients and their families. Sharing their journey and being able to help them on their way to recovery. When the outcome isn’t good, to be able to share that journey is a privilege, and not something everyone can do.”

scene: NICU

  • Patient name: Ellianna Cook
  • Patient diagnosis: Hirshsprungs disease
  • What they love about their nurse: The NICU nurses always made us feel comfortable and kept us up to date with her care. They were always willing to answer questions and would go find out the answers if they didn't know. They were comfortable with all aspects of Ellianna's care and made us feel at ease that she was in the best hands possible. They were also very accommodating to our needs and emotions, and were always asking if there was anything we needed. Amanda made us feel comfortable leaving at night to go home to our other three kids. It was always hard to balance where we should be and when we needed to be at home, but she made that transition easier. Amanda took great care of her and helped us to rest easy when we couldn’t be there, especially at night.
  • Nurse name: Amanda Newport
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 4 years
  • Unit: NICU
  • What they love about their job: I love the NICU because I love babies. I love being in aspecialized unit that requires much attention to detail and critical thinking. I work with an incredible team of knowledgeable nurses and physicians and learn something new every shift. It is a very rewarding career and seeing our tiny babies come back as healthy children is a reminder of why we do what we do!

scene: dining room

  • Patient name: Andray Simmons
  • Patient diagnosis: Sickle Cell
  • What they love about their nurse: They are always really nice and make coming to the hospital not so bad!
  • Nurse name: Kate Barrett
  • How long at Dayton Children’s: 26 years
  • What they love about their job: My job is very fulfilling. It’s not only helping the patient/family physically or medically but emotionally as well. Helping a family/patient work through a problem, using a team approach to help solve the problem, there is nothing better. My families/patients call us their “Children’s family”, allowing us to share in their child’s life is a gift. The bravery, humor, smile, and joy the patients demonstrate on a daily basis on good and bad days has taught so much and has made me a better nurse and person.

Magnet designation® awarded

Recognized nationally as the gold standard in patient care and the professional practice of nursing.

learn more