Kaiser Permanente nurse hand-makes holiday joy for colleagues at Santa Clara

Nurse Kay Miller hand- makes Christmas ornaments for her colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. But these are no ordinary ornaments, and the recipients are the extraordinary workers at the KP hospital, doctors, nurses, and staff who work with the hospital’s most vulnerable patients: premature babies.
“The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff is a phenomenal group from the doctors to the unit clerks,” says Miller, herself NICU nurse for over 28 years. “ This is a way for me to honor and thank them for all they do.”
Miller assembles small-sized quilts, about five or six inches wide, in the shape of fans, using high-quality materials and beautiful silky fabrics. She’s been doing it for five years. It takes Miller about two-and-a-half hours to craft each ornament, and this year, she made about 100 of them for her colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente hospital.
“I actually found the design 25 years ago in a Family Circle magazine,” says Miller. “Over time, I’ve refined the design, and improved my skills making the ornaments.”
And Miller is very precise about the work she does. She cuts the intricately patterned fabric into 5 pie-shaped wedges, thirty degrees angled each, sews them together, mounts them on a backing and uses a compass to create the curved top of the fan. Then Miller uses quilting fleece to fill the ornament. She adds lace and a bow at the end but she begins her work early.
“Oh I start making the ornaments in January. By the time the holidays roll around, they’re all ready,” says Miller.
On a string of synthetic pine bough, Miller hangs the ornaments from the desk area of the NICU, far out of the way of the isolettes containing the infants. Miller encourages the doctors, nurses and staff to choose their own favorite quilted ornament. Staff members write their names on a small piece of fabric from which each ornament hangs.
“We’re always keeping our eyes and ears on the babies, that’s our job but the NICU nurses and doctors can take a second of two and “shop” for their favorite ornament,” Miller says.
The Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Kaiser Permanente has won numerous achievement honors for quality care and positive outcomes. Kay Miller and her colleagues are part of that excellent care of fragile infants. . And her hand-made fan ornaments are Miller’s way of making sure the team is honored.