USA Health’s NICU nurse manager among Alabama’s Top Nurses
Renee Rogers was one of 10 healthcare providers selected out of more than 400 nominations from across the state.
By Casandra Andrews
candrews@health.southalabama.edu
For almost two decades, Renee Rogers, R.N., B.S.N., S.A.N.E., has managed the team of specially trained nurses who care for some of the region’s tiniest patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital.
This week, she was named one of Alabama’s Top Nurses by Alabama Media Group, This is Alabama and the Alabama State Nurses Association. Out of more than 400 nominations from across Alabama, Rogers was one of only 10 healthcare providers selected for this honor by a panel from the state nurses association.
"This wonderful recognition reflects the incredible care that is provided in our NICU and the leadership that Renee has provided for nearly 20 years," said Chris Jett, administrator for Children's & Women's Hospital. "When we think of the thousands of lives that have been impacted during those years, I am thankful and proud of the role that Renee has played in the care that has been provided. This is a well-deserved honor for Renee, and one that we celebrate with her."
In addition to her role at Children’s & Women’s Hospital, beginning in 2000, Rogers became the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for Mobile County, working for years to serve the needs of sexual assault victims and leading efforts to ensure that patients receive prompt and proper treatment. She has attended court hearings, served as an expert witness and offers training on evidence collection to incoming nursing students, police cadets and new rape crisis advocates.
During college, from 1990 to 1992, Rogers worked as a student nurse in the floater pool at the former Doctors Hospital that later became part of USA Health. Rogers' first official job at Children’s & Women’s Hospital began in June 1992, when she worked in the pediatric emergency department until 1997. Later, she became an employee health nurse and then nurse manager for the Mother-Baby Unit from 1999 to 2002.
One of the most memorable moments of her career came when the region’s only Level III NICU welcomed one of the world’s smallest premature infants: “Watching a 9.1-ounce baby survive and grow over the last 12 years with no issues” has been inspiring, she said. “I have a picture I show frequently of a baby lying next to a Sharpie, which is 5 1/2 inches long, to show a good visual of how small she was at birth.”
