Joy Quilatan provides specialized care for the medical center’s tiniest patients

For Joy Quilatan, those small packages are babies – some as young as 23 weeks old – under her care in the neonatal intensive care unit at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. As an assistant nurse manager and transport coordinator, she provides urgent and specialized care for infants born prematurely and with high-risk medical conditions.

Quilatan has traveled to hospitals in the far reaches of Northern California to stabilize, resuscitate and transport to UC Davis newborn infants with a wide range of health problems and life-threatening illnesses.

“In the absence of a doctor in the field, we are trained in advance procedures such as intubation, central line placements and chest thoracentesis,” Quilatan says, noting that the job requires superior assessment skills and the ability to think quickly. “We are the eyes and ears of our neonatologist and function as the leader of this team if a baby is in very critical condition,” she adds.

Working in the NICU has given Quilatan the opportunity to expand her knowledge and hone her skills as a nurse.

“It’s a huge privilege to be able to witness the birth of a premature baby, to participate in stabilization and resuscitation, and to watch the baby grow and thrive with each day,” she says. “And it’s rewarding to be able to calm the fears of terrified parents and provide assurance that their babies will be okay. They look so relieved and grateful that you are in charge of the situation.”

Quilatan says part of the practice of primary nursing is being present for the milestones in a baby’s early life, sharing not only in the high points but also providing comfort during difficult times, such as a baby’s death.

“It’s an honor that with our simple presence we are able to be a source of strength to families at their most vulnerable moments,” she says. “When children come back to visit, I often cry because it reinforces the good outcome of what we do.”

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UC Davis Children's Hospital

Quilatan, who grew up in the Philippines, graduated with a nursing degree at age 19 from the University of St. Thomas in Manila. She envisioned herself traveling to different countries and having a career that was constantly challenging, but also carrying out a vocation where she could make a difference in people’s lives. She found such a vocation in working with infants.

After moving from the Philippines to the San Francisco Bay Area when she married, Quilatan worked as a neonatal nurse in the Level II Intensive Care Nursery at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose. When she and her husband relocated to Sacramento in 2001, she began work as a neonatal nurse at UC Davis and soon advanced to a broader role as a neonatal transport nurse. She assumed her present position in 2006.

Quilatan stays very busy outside of her work at UC Davis Health System. While working full time, she takes classes three evenings a week at Sac State to earn her master’s degree in nursing. She hopes to finish her studies in 2008 and become a clinical nurse specialist in neonatal care.

Quilatan is also a certified lactation consultant, a role she took on after the birth of her son, who is now four. She has testified before a state legislative committee regarding proposed regulations regarding hospital storage of breast milk.

Because of her superior work in neonatal care, Quilatan is one of several nurses in the Sacramento area recognized by the March of Dimes. The story of her experience as a neonatal nurse is featured in a Best of Sacramento publication in fall 2007.

Quilatan is grateful because she loves her work and feels the strong support of coworkers.

“I’m so fortunate that along with many wonderful experiences I’ve had working with amazing babies, I’ve also had the pleasure of working with dynamic colleagues at UC Davis who are so generous with their knowledge and expertise—nurses who have mentored, motivated and inspired me to strive to be better not only in my profession, but as a member of the community.”