Bassett CARES Helps Student Fill Maternity Nursing Dream
Bassett Hospital gave Kelli-Jo VanValkenburgh ’24 the opportunity of a lifetime as a junior nursing student.
“I was working with a nurse in the maternity ward when our patient went into labor,” she said. “The nurse pulled me in right next to her and told me to catch the baby.”
She not only got to catch the newborn but also had the honor of placing the baby in mom’s arms. “That was the final validation that I was where I needed to be,” she said.
“I never thought that, as a student nurse, I would ever get to be that hands-on, but I will never forget that day.”
Kelli-Jo VanValkenburgh '24
Nursing Major
