Part one of a series introducing you to the providers and patients who are part of our growing acute care pediatrics family.
We are adding an additional 24 acute care beds to the Children’s Tower and construction is fully underway on our 11th floor. In just a few months, we will be able to take care of even more children who need us.
Our acute care pediatrics team cares for kiddos who need to be admitted for a serious condition, chronic illness or injury.
Julia Johnston, the nurse manager who joined our team to oversee ACP 11, always knew she wanted to be a nurse. When her mom taught her what the word “neonatal” meant, she knew she wanted to take care of tiny babies.
“Mama, I’m going to be a neonatal nurse when I grow up,” Julia remembered saying when she was little. As she got older, she spent a brief time in the military before enrolling in nursing school.
“I followed my heart,” Julia said, “and embarked on a career that has been both challenging and rewarding. I realize I ended up exactly where I was meant to be.”
Julia has a heart for healing, and helping families, as a pediatric nurse
Julia spent 19 years working in NICUs before joining our acute care team. She has helped many patients overcome insurmountable illnesses and go on to live long and healthy lives and being there for those kids and families is so important to her. But while there are many amazing recoveries, she knows she has also helped families deal with unbearable loss, and each experience has made her a better nurse.
She remembers early in her career having to guide parents through the loss of a baby born at just 22-weeks gestation and how walking that family through their worst moments has stayed with her.
“I spent time with them, explaining his condition, the interventions we had attempted and what comfort-focused care would look like,” she remembered. “I answered their questions, listened to their concerns and supported them as they faced an unimaginable decision.”
Her care for this family did not end when she got off work.
“After my shift ended, I returned to offer my condolences. I cried alongside them and gave them a small pin of tiny footprints, a symbol of the immeasurable impact their son had made and the footprints he would forever leave on their hearts.”
While nurses get ongoing medical training even after graduating nursing school, Julia knows the lessons learned on the job are just as important.
“This experience reinforced the importance of compassionate communication, ethical decision-making and holistic family-centered care,” she explained. “It taught me that one of the most meaningful roles of a nurse is not only to advocate for patients, but also to guide families through their most difficult moments with empathy, honesty and dignity.”
Building an atmosphere of authentic support on ACP 11
As a nurse manager, Julia won’t just be taking care of patients, she will be guiding her team of nurses through what can often be a very stressful and hectic job. She’s dedicated to making sure they find fulfillment both on and off the job.
“While nursing is a meaningful and rewarding profession, it should not define our entire identity,” she said. “Spending quality time with family and friends, engaging in hobbies and prioritizing self-care are essential for maintaining physical, emotional and mental well-being. By caring for ourselves, we are better equipped to care for others.”
And by caring for others, Julia doesn’t just mean her patients. She is dedicated to CHoR’s mission of treating the whole child and family and wants parents and caregivers to know she is there for both them and their little ones.
“I want families to know that I truly see them,” Julia explained. “I see that their child is still a child first and foremost, deserving of love, joy, play and laughter, regardless of their diagnosis or circumstances. I also see the immense challenges their parents face. I see the internal struggle of wanting desperately to help their child while feeling powerless to change the situation.”
But she knows what happens in the hospital isn’t the only thing families have to worry about.
“I see the challenge of balancing the needs of a hospitalized child with the needs of siblings at home,” she said. “I see the exhaustion of trying to care for themselves while caring for everyone else and the constant worry about providing financial stability, keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table.”
She says every family is unique and special to both her and our team.
“I want them to know that they are not just another patient or another family passing through our doors. They are individuals with unique stories, fears, hopes and dreams. Just as their child deserves compassion, dignity and humanity, so do they. My goal is to ensure they feel heard, valued, supported and cared for throughout their journey, especially during their most difficult moments.”
This is the second expansion happening in the Tower this year! Learn about our new NICU that opened in January.