February 9, 2007

Glitz and glamour in the PICU

On a normal workday, Lisa Ogden, RN, of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), wears her scrubs, ID badge and comfortable sneakers — practical attire for keeping up with the demands of caring for her young patients. The morning of Jan. 24, however, was anything but an average day for Ogden. She was just ending her shift when two surprise visitors — Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, and Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse arrived in the PICU with a blue jewelry box intended for Ogden. Opening the gift, Ogden was shocked to see that she had just been handed an 18-carat, white gold diamond necklace valued at more than $19,000 and created by Dorfman Jewelers on Newbury Street in Boston.

Jonathan Kraft, president of the New England Patriots, won the necklace in an auction at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children's annual Storybook Ball in October. Instead of taking it home, he donated it back to the MGH and requested that it be given to a pediatric nurse. Ogden was selected randomly by MGH Human Resources for the prize in a drawing of all pediatric nurses at the hospital.

After being presented with the necklace, Ogden modeled it for her delighted colleagues. "I feel so lucky to have won the necklace, and it was extremely generous of Mr. Kraft to donate it," says Ogden. "It will become a family heirloom eventually when I pass it down to my daughter."