DAISY winner puts parents’ minds at ease

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Cloe Amos remembers the fear and uncertainty in the young couple’s eyes as they absorbed the significance of their infant daughter’s medical condition.

Their little girl, born in Bloomington with a condition called Pierre Robin Sequence that would require intervention from plastic surgery, pediatric ENT and craniofacial specialists, was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children, where she spent the next two months in the NICU.

But it was on 8 West that Amos got to know Daniel and Elizabeth Wallace and their daughter, Charlotte, who needed a tracheostomy and G-tube before she could go home.

The relationship they built was pivotal for the couple in overcoming their fears about caring for their first child – a medically complex child.

“The entire staff on 8W is incredible and provided so much support to our family as we worked to get home,” Elizabeth Wallace said. “Charlotte’s primary nurse, Cloe Amos, went above and beyond to take care of our daughter and train us to go home.”

Amos was recently celebrated with a DAISY Award for her clinical skills and compassionate care, thanks to a nomination from the Wallaces.

“As you can imagine, learning how to take care of an infant for the first time, who also happens to have a trach and g-tube, is quite intimidating and overwhelming,” Wallace wrote in her nomination, which she consented to share for this story.

“However, Cloe was with us every step of the way. She spent so much time with us to make sure we were comfortable with trach changes, daily trach care, suctioning, giving meds, setting up feeds, and all the other skills you have to have to properly care for a kid with a trach and g-tube.”

Amos has been a nurse at Riley for three years. She moved to Indianapolis from her hometown in Illinois, and 8W was the first place she shadowed during nursing school.

“I loved it,” she said. “And I’d always heard about Riley and that it was a great place to work. The people on the unit really make my job worthwhile. I have a great group of friends, and I love taking care of the trach/vent patients, the cystic fibrosis kiddos and those with asthma. We get more chronic patients, so we get to build good relationships with them and with their families.”

That’s exactly what she was able to do for the Wallace family as she and the team helped train them to care for their daughter at home.

“Nursing isn’t always just physical skills,” Amos said. “The parents had a lot of worries, so we had to work on the emotions of it all. We took walks, shared hugs, found distractions. I told them from Day 1 they would be OK, even though it seems like a lot.”

Sure enough, they were OK. When they returned to Riley later, they were pros.

“Due to Cloe’s training, my husband and I (and Charlotte’s other caregivers) felt confident taking Charlotte home knowing we could care for her,” Wallace said. “While we are home now, we do have the occasional pit stop at 8W for sickness, and you’d better believe Charlotte is always happy to see Cloe (when we are lucky enough to have her on shift).”

Charlotte, who sailed through her cleft palate repair at Riley last week and recently celebrated her first birthday, is doing great, her mom said.

“Without Cloe’s patience, kindness and expertise, we would not be where we are today.”

Seeing Charlotte and her family thrive is what makes nursing so rewarding, Amos said. Outside the hospital, she is planning her wedding to her fiancé, Tyler, in three months. She loves DIY projects, hanging out with friends and her dogs and spending hours at Hobby Lobby with her grandma.

Nominate a nurse who exemplifies excellent clinical skills and compassionate care here.

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org