Nurse’s Photo Album "Required Reading"

More often than not, taking a glance at someone’s photo album means an hour of listening to their vacation anecdotes. But in St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital’s 3 South Antepartum wing, there’s a photo album that serves as inspiration to every patient who stays there. Put together in 1995 by registered nurse Jelina Geronca, the book features patients’ letters, along with photos of their babies.

"Patients’ stays here are often difficult," said Geronca, now an assistant nurse manager. "Some of them spend weeks in an upside down position to maintain their pregnancy. We thought it would be great for patients to see how well past patients did, and as a result, they’d be inspired to keep up with their difficult routines."

Geronca explained that it is not unusual at all for patients to keep in touch after their stays at St. Luke’s. Many patients stay for several months leading up to the births of their children.

"We often have patients who stay in touch with us, because they stay here long enough to become part of our family," Geronca said. "I’m happy when a family will write to us or send updated pictures of their child. It lets me know that they’re feeling that bond."

Geronca still keeps in touch with a patient who lives in Italy, and in doing so, Geronca now has a slight grasp of a foreign language. In one way or another, nearly every patient in the Antepartum unit becomes a story of inspiration.

"Nurses like Jelina are special," said former patient Cathy Staerker, who gave birth to a healthy baby boy. "When you consider all the things that nurses do, it can’t be defined in one word. They’re psychologists. They’re caregivers. They’re all sorts of different things."

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/05_01_02/page_11.html