How to Thank Nursing Staff Who Took Care of My Child?

I work for a healthcare organization with numerous hospitals and clinics. On each of the units, they have Wow cards that parents of patients or the patients themselves can feel out to express their feelings to the nursing staff. Since your infant is no longer in the hospital, you could send a card or letter/both to the Nurse Adminstrator of that particular hospital or a Charge Nurse of that unit and mention some names you remember, the treatment and the unit in which your child was on or just Thank the entire nursing staff. You could also send flowers w/a simple card-That states "Thank you for taking such wonderful care of_______(child's name) when he was here. You are an amazing nursing team." They could display it at the nurses station and all staff members would get to enjoy it.

When my son was in the hospital every day I would walk by a bulletin board where there were pictures and notes from former patients. It was a big deal for the nurses and very inspiring for new parents. You could make a nice poster that includes a picture of your child, his age and the date of his stay with a big thank you.

I'd keep it simple and send a nice card to the specific ward where your infant stayed. Most nursing staff have a centralized station where they receive and post thank-you's and such. Bet they'd appreciate that, and there won't be the hassle of a shift missing out.

We bought a basket of gourmet chocolates and wrote a note to the nurses. We figured that whoever didn't get the candy would still be able to read the note.

C., first, I'm so glad you are writing about a happy ending!

I think doing something is important, and communicating your appreciation in writing will cover all shifts at the hospital. If you donate, send a note to let them know. All the ideas below sound good to me.

In our case, it was not our child, but my Father who was in ICU for 2 weeks before he died. Our family noted and so appreciated the care, respect and gentleness with which he was treated. The staff did a wonderful job of nursing in the whole sense of the word, even amongst machines and tubes and monitors and awful beeping. I feel sure that these human touches bolstered my Dad's ability to be calm and keep a sense of humor throughout that unending 14 days.

The week after his death, we put together a basket of sweet and savory snacks and fruit, some packaged for longevity. We wrote a note to the entire ICU nursing staff, and on the front of it, I printed a photo of a family gathering, taken 2 weeks before my Father's stroke. This helped us; to feel that they might understand the vital and amazing person we had been trying to hold on to, and also to communicate our sincere thanks for their true body-and-soul care.

As a nurse for over 23 years I love all these sentiments! True, you won't be able to hit all the nurses because of days off etc but everyone will see a note. Notes sent in are always posted and it such a nice gesture because it takes extra time on your part. If you include a picture of your daughter/family that will help everyone remember her. If you want to take goodies a box of candy for each shift is fine or something healthier like a box of fruit. I worked nights and often the day shift would eat everything and nothing would be left so it was nice when the "off shifts" weren't forgotten. When you get your hospital survey express your appreciation in that or as some one mentioned you could send a note to the administrator or director and those notes are forwarded to the unit usually with a note of appreciation from the director as well. I am glad you had great care and your daughter is fine.

We donated money in the NICU's name and also gave the staff a large basket of purchased treats with various items so they weren't going to go stale quickly, could sit for a week to wait for other nurses to come back on shift, etc.
Oh, and ours like to get photo paper for their digital camera & printer since they buy the paper out of their own pockets.
They appreciate it all.

Please fill out the survey the hospital sends to you regarding the care you received & if you remember the nurses names write them! The nursing staff gets acknowledged by administration when you do this-it's a great feeling to be recognized :)
If you send any treats make sure you send a note with your childs pic & bring something for all the shifts :)
You can also make a donation to the hospital in a nurses name or unit name or like someone mentioned bring in toys for the children who are patients!
It is true, all notes & cards are posted for everyone to see!
Nurses are often forgotten about, so even a note of appreciation puts a smile on their faces! It is very sweet that you are wanting to do this!

I think if you took food treats with a card that it was for the entire nursing staff, the day shift would leave some for the night crew. And anyone who didn't get the food would see the card. db

We brought See's candy to 3 specific nurses/technicians with thank you notes for each of them and got a $50 gift card (restaurant) for one special nurse (who helped deliver our son) with a thank you note.

If you decide to do a basket, just make sure there is a nice note on it and hopefully all will get a treat but the note will mean more to them :)

Happy to hear you and your family are home! Enjoy mommy-hood!

Forget the food.
Donate to the hospital or a special cause in the staffs name.
Ask what is needed for the children on their floor, blankets, board games, etc.
Ask if the nurses have a special interest in a certain cause....

Not sure what hospital you were at. But you can do a cookie basket. There is a great Bakery in Upland called the Crusty Tart. The sugar cookies there are awesome, and they could personalize them. There is also a Bakery in Claremont called Some crust. They have a lot of cookies and scones, and a large unique variety. Good Luck :)

I am a former nurse. Buy the staff lunch or send a nice cookie platter to the unit. We love food!

PLEASE write a note and include names (or physical descriptions & shifts) of nurses who made a difference to you. There is a reason certain nurses stick out in your mind - They're doing an awesome job! Most hospitals will go to extraordinary lengths to track down nurses mentioned in thank you notes and indentify them. Although food is fantastic, (and almost always appreciated by everyone) a note that mentions names is even more important - here's why: As some of the other posters mentioned, nurses are frequently overlooked - even when they have worked their buns off and it may be an observation that they made/treatment they did that made the difference b/w life and death. They are NOT just "following doctor's orders" these days and the care they provide is absolutely essential to good outcomes. Now here's why the notes are important. They PROVE to hospital administrators (who often do not directly observe the great care nurses provide - particularly on night & evening shifts when parents are often able to visit) what a fabulous asset they have. This can translate into RAISES for the nurses - which can mean LOTS of money over the long run for those nurses. Personally, if I could have a brownie or a raise, I'll take the RAISE! (Just my personal take having BEEN a nurse.) :-)

Send a nice card and some flowers to the unit. That way they can all see it.

My FIL was in the hospital for one whole month recently and my MIL brought in a huge box of Sees Candies -- 5 or 10 lb?? The nurses were very, very appreciative and since the box was so large, they all got to partake on various shifts.

A heartfelt letter to the floor, and a desert tray that could stay out all day?

We were in a similar situation. I called the head nurse of the floor. We talked about the three different shifts. We agreed on a day I would come in, and she let the staff know in advance...we bought pizzas locally, brought in all the paperwares and a homemade card with the baby's picture on it that said, "Thank you for taking such good care of me!" That way the staff could see who it was from, knew not to pack lunch that day and we brought it in at the end of one shift/the beginning of the next so they each got "dinner". Then we also brought in donuts for the late night shift. We brought PLENTY knowing that the assistants, medical students and other therapists would also hit the "free food".

I had several of the nurses that were there when we delivered the food say that NO ONE had ever come back and done something like that for them. They were all exceptionally thankful and said that it really helped hearing from their boss so they knew not to bring food from home that day.

Another idea, consider making a donation for something SPECIFICALLY for that floor, nurses station, etc. Perhaps there is something they'd LOVE but never had one on that floor? It could be something as simple as a radio.

Best wishes - glad to hear your child is OK!

Hi C.! Thank God your baby is OK. Send the staff THANK YOU items like food (fruit basket, breakfast items, etc.) like 2 or 3 times in a week's period. Something like every 3 or 4 days. That is so sweet that you want to do something considering you are SO BUSY! I agree with Jennifer H., a letter about your exprience there at the hospital will go a long way.