Tomorrow we officially celebrate 20 years of our implementation of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) in Colorado, and the nurses who have transformed thousands of lives in Colorado — just like the nurse who impacted Jamie Shaw’s life described here:
Jamie Shaw found out she was pregnant at age 19. She went to the Larimer County Health Dept. to apply for Medicaid and was told about the NFP program. She didn’t feel like she needed help, but the nurse was so sweet and soft spoken that she didn’t want to tell her “no.” As time went on, the visits became invaluable to Jamie. Her nurse prepared her for any issue that could possible arise, and she met her difficult labor and delivery with the confidence and calmness that knowledge brings.
Jamie said her nurse was dependable, available and was calming for her, and was the first visitor in the hospital after the birth of her healthy baby.
“You can tell when someone really cares and when someone is just doing a job. My nurse really cared about me,” said Jamie.
Jamie had trouble with breastfeeding, and her nurse helped her figure it out. The nurse taught her how to care for her baby in terms of physical needs like bathing, car seats and also to emotionally care for the baby.
Jamie recently graduated from nursing school and works as a corrections nurse.