Jo Ann Morey, BSN, RN

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

As the mother of a former premature infant, Jo Ann Morey has a unique understanding of the stresses and heartache that NICU families face.

Her own experience compelled Morey to join a team teaching a class of parents with high-risk pregnancies about what to expect if their baby is admitted to the NICU. Eventually, she took over the organization of the teaching.

“Jo Ann has helped make the NICU experience a little less frightening for countless families because of this class,” said Sandra Harmon, MSN, RN, former assistant nurse manager of the NICU, who nominated Morey for this award, along with nurse manager Marianne Cummings, MSN, RN, and nurse educator Marie Field, MS, RN.

One mother who attended the class said, “At the time I took that antenatal class, I had no idea how important it would be to my husband and me. While I was still in the delivery room, I could picture where my babies would be and what they would look like in the NICU. I knew they would be safe and well cared for, and that was so comforting to me.”

Morey last year partnered with Katherine Gregory, PhD, RN, BWH’s first nurse scientist, to develop a research proposal to measure the effects of the class on parental stress levels during the NICU experience. Her proposal was accepted by the IRB, and she began enrolling parents in her study last spring. She also is planning a follow-up study.

“There is no question that her clinical practice and her work as a nurse researcher reflect excellence,” said Gregory. “Her decision-making, interventions, work with the interdisciplinary team and, most importantly, her interpersonal skills, are a model for the entire BWH nursing community.”

Morey is a strong advocate for her tiny patients and their families, and a participant and role model in the unit’s palliative care program. She plays a leading role in helping to adopt policies and provide staff education for care of infants with congenital heart disease.

“Jo Ann is very mission oriented when it comes to her leadership style and her care delivery,” Field said. “Her mission is simple: keeping NICU babies and their parents together in the most pleasant and welcoming environment possible.”

“Jo Ann is an inspiration to all who have had the privilege to work beside her, to be led by her, and most importantly, to be cared for by her,” Harmon said.

Morey also is a research nurse at Children’s Hospital. Prior to joining BWH’s NICU, she was a staff nurse in the 67th Combat Support Army Hospital in Germany. Morey received her BSN from Northeastern University.