Nomination by Courtney
Mel - VIC
When your baby is born so early, the unknown is terrifying. When Maverick arrived at just 23+4 weeks, our nurse Mel became our guiding light throughout our entire NICU journey. She touched our lives in ways we will never forget cheering for every tiny victory, sitting with me through countless tears, and most importantly, trusting her instincts when something wasn’t right. Her intuition saved Maverick’s life, and because of her, we have our beautiful boy with us today. Aunty Mel, we can never thank you enough. You will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Nomination by Claire
Monica - VIC
We are so thankful for Monica at the special care nursery who hospital who cared for both our children Ava (July 2021) and Jack (March 2025). Monica is always so bright and bubbly, never too busy to provide some of her wisdom for the precious babies in NICU. She is a true angel and someone we will never forget. The support she provides families going through a difficult time whilst having a baby in NICU is second to none.
Nomination by Jannica
Kellie - QLD
Kellie is an amazing NICU nurse who helped me with both of my twins. Sadly one of the twins, Angelo passed away, Kellie went above and beyond to help suggest so many thoughtful ways we could create memories of our beloved Angelo. I do wish I did them all, but after losing a child my brain and body didn't know what to do and just wanted Angelo back. Kellie was really there for both my boys and myself. NICU nurse Kellie was one of our boys nurses that went about and beyond her duty of care. Thank you Kellie I really appreciate all your hugs and love while in hospital. Forever grateful xxxxx
Nomination by ashleigh
Jess - ACT
Our family would like to nominate Jess. Jess cared for our beautiful identical twin boys, Oscar and Alfie, during our extended NICU stay spanning five months. Jess is a nurse who touched all of our lives in many ways and our family is incredibly fond of her (including Oscar and Alfie's grandmother who also spent lots of time at the hospital with us!).
Not only is Jess a highly skilled nurse with excellent technical expertise, she is compassionate, dedicated, supportive, inclusive and is an exceptional communicator with families. We always felt her positive energy and reassured when we walked into the NICU room knowing she was caring for Oscar and Alfie. She took the time to get to know them, advocated for them, had a caring approach, and was always calm.
I think she was the nurse who really made me feel like a mum, rather than a visitor, and built our confidence as new parents. Jess always ensured we were as involved in Oscar and Alfie's care as we could be - planning 'cares' times around our schedule, making sure we had cuddles each day, and was there for us when we needed to cry, laugh or talk about how difficult the NICU was. One of her best assets is that she can translate medical concepts to parents in a way that is easy to understand.
She made sure we had some precious twin cuddles that we will cherish forever. We will forever be reminded of Jess as she appears in many of our favourite photos with our boys (or her hand/arm makes an appearance!) as she always made sure we captured moments on our cameras. Oscar and us love seeing Jess now outside of the NICU and keeping in touch. Jess will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Nomination by Sara
Brad - ACT
Brad was one of the first nurses that worked with Riv. He was always so kind and caring. Brad showed & explained to us everything that Riv had attached to her and what it was for. We had a scary moment when Riv was still intubated and she started coughing because the “tubing” was moving during a cuddle. Brad calmly explained that we needed to put her back in the isolette, that she was ok and her numbers were ok, but her “tubes” needed to be readjusted. I left the room while they sorted her out and Brad called me back in once done. The next day I was so scared to cuddle but Brad pushed me to in the most caring and reassuring way. So grateful for his expertise, compassion, kindness & care for us and our little girl during our NICU journey.
nomination by sara
Georgia - ACT
Georgia was absolutely amazing during our NICU journey! She cared so beautifully for our Rivah-Skye. Made many beautiful hand & footprints for us. Georgia always made us feel like Riv was in safe caring hands if we weren’t there. She would Always pop past and visit if she hadn’t seen us for a while.
nomination by rebecca
Jayla - VIC
Having an earlybird baby with 3 boisterous boys and trying to juggle that was incredibly hard. Jayla always went out of her way to make sure I had what I needed to care for Sienna and keep the boys entertained. Whether she let them observe her restocking the trolleys in our room, picking out cot sheets for their sister, finding colouring in sheets and crayons and setting them up on the floor next to their sisters cot, or even letting them take turns with the stethoscope listening to their sisters heartbeat. Jayla made it such a beautiful experience that to this day the boys still talk about. Sienna bounces back and forth from home to the NICU for months and Jayla was always there ready to greet us and do a mental health check in with me even if it meant she was staying back past her finish time. She’s a real Angel that our family will never forget!
nomination by Celia
Ange
To Ange, Thank you for your infinite wisdom, your company, laughs and many useful tips for us new parents while in the SCN and looking after our baby Olivia born at 32weeks. I will never forget when I broke down one night in the wee hours of the morning that you checked in on me alongside nurse Jac and gave me a hug and said "thank god you're crying, because I'd be worried if you didn't - what you're going through is so rough and what you're feeling is all valid". Thank you for making me feel seen and looked after alongside the best care for my bub.
nomination by Hannah
Jayme - WA
Jayme cared for my son in the NICU at King Edward Memorial Hospital. She went above and beyond for all the precious babies in her care and made the families feel seen, appreciated and positive. I will forever be grateful for her xx
nomination by Medine
Mary - QLD
I’d like to nominate Mary at the Royal Women’s Hospital. Our 24 weeker had a long stay at that amazing NICU, yet 7 months after his birth, still in hospital (RCH now) and many nurses, we cannot forget Mary. She brought a sense of calm, understanding and overall peace when she was with my son. It seemed as though she had a special connection with him. All his good days were when she was looking after him and I don’t think that it was a coincidence. She always seemed to know exactly what he needed. Her touch was so gentle. Her personality was warm. And her ability to connect with babies and us is truly a gift. I can’t thank her enough for how at ease she made us feel, for the exemplary care she gave and just simply being a lovely person. Thank you Mary!
nomination by Ashleigh
Amanda - VIC
Amanda was such a lovely caring nurse. She looked after our 35 weeker whilst we were at Nepean Hospital. She helped us with all the firsts; from nappies, bottles and baths she was so gentle and caring and made us feel so involved. We loved seeing her journal entries in our daughter’s diary. You can see how much care and love was put into it. Amanda captured our baby’s hand and foot prints and turned them into beautiful artworks. Amanda helped break down the medical jargon, and explained all the cords and wires attached to our daughter whilst on CPAP and made it less scary. We will forever be grateful and appreciative of Amanda. You can see the love and passion she has being a NICU nurse.
