NICU Nurses at Rust Medical Center Create Quilt Art

NICU Nurses at Rust Medical Center Create Quilt Art

Nurses at Rust Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are caring for their tiny patients in a unique way – they’re creating handmade quilts! The gift of quilting has been a part of the NICU history at Presbyterian where nurses traditionally make quilts for patients. With the opening of Presbyterian Rust Medical Center on October 22, 2011, the NICU nurses have a new challenge: to create quilts for permanent display in each of the 11 private NICU patient rooms.

The quilt squares are being designed by staff nurses and assembled with love by retired NICU nurse Lynda Nystrom. When completed, the quilts will be framed and displayed in the unit. Quilt making is an example of a participatory art program that engages staff and results in healthcare appropriate artwork that is intended for a specific patient population.

By sewing the quilt squares, the nurses earn points for the Presbyterian Career Ladder program, which rewards bedside RNs for academic achievement and participating in activities that relate directly to improving patient care quality or enhancing clinical outcomes.

Take a virtual tour of Presbyterian Rust Medical Center today.