Healthcare Hero: Brittany Bennett
Brittany Bennett, Patient Care Director of Cardiology and Neurology
NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
Our next Healthcare Hero is Brittany Bennett. Recently, Brittany was asked to lead the inpatient pediatric cardiac and neurology team at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.
Her new title is Patient Care Director of Cardiology and Neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.
Before this move within the NewYork-Presbyterian system, Brittany was the Patient Care Director General for Pediatrics at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Brittany is dedicated to doing everything she can in order to help her patients and team within the hospital.
She discusses the many challenges she faced when the unexpected pandemic hit.
One of the hardest obstacles as a nurse manager at a pediatric hospital was alerting her team that they will be converting from caring for pediatric patients to adults.
This was a huge transformation, especially for pediatric nurses who have been working with children for years, to suddenly care for some of the sickest adults in Brooklyn.
Brittany maintained a positive outlook on the situation saying: “In those moments, it didn't matter the age of the patient, what mattered was that we were going to step up and step into our new patient population's rooms to provide amazing care and be there for them when their loved ones couldn't.”
Brittany understands the effect the pandemic has had on children’s physical and mental health. It’s been a complete disruption to a child’s life. From not attending in person school regularly, having limited social interactions, and a major change in their routines, it is a lot of change for one tiny person to go through.
Brittany takes the time to really acknowledge and reflect on what her patients may need in order to feel better. Since the pandemic, hospitals have discussed the spike in pediatric patients admitted for mental health concerns. She understands that it is difficult for children to jump over this hurdle and shares how she hopes there will be an increase in services available to kids and teens to help them process and to provide emotional support.
enCourage Kids Foundation has an excellent partnership with the pediatric department at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. We are especially proud of the playroom renovation we funded, creating a bright and colorful space where kids can do what they do best - play!
“The Hospital Happenings bring laughter to our patients and families. The enCourage Kids bears help comfort children and enable them to do medical play. These support programs, along with our excellent child life specialists, really shape the experience for our patients and families, and we are so thankful!”
As Brittany steps into her new role at Morgan Stanley, she shares “It was a bittersweet goodbye to my Brooklyn Methodist Hospital team. I am still very close and communicate often with them!”
We are so happy to hear about Brittany transitioning to her new role at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. We know that she is going to do an outstanding job there and help more children get the proper care they deserve, while still being a part of the NYP family!
She showed great appreciation for enCourage Kids and we want to give our appreciation back to a compassionate Healthcare Hero like Brittany!