FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It’s a legacy that began more than 60 years ago when Nicklaus Children’s Hospital was called Variety Children’s.
Anna Perini was an overnight nurse who was also raising three children.
“So my sister and I, we would see her come home from work and love what she did,” said her daughter, Regina Perini-Fritz. “She was so enthusiastic about her patients and so it didn’t seem like a job.”
Perini-Fritz proudly showed Local 10 News’ Kristi Krueger the nurse’s cape her mother once wore in New York, and the uniform she wore after Hurricane Andrew.
Perini-Fritz followed in her mother’s footsteps at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and is now a nurse administrator.
“I’m no longer in a direct patient care role, but as a nurse administrator, I still impact patient care because I take care of my nursing team, especially the young ones,” she said. “You have to make them strong and resilient and still be compassionate.”
That compassion continues with Perini-Fritz’s daughter, Amanda Schmidt, who is also a nurse at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
“I remember coming here for bring your child to work day, being able to visit the different units, play with the little candies, syringes, looking at the security cameras,” she said. “It really feels like almost the Disney World of hospitals.”
Schmidt started out in the neonatal intensive care unit, where she met her husband, who is also a nurse.
She said it did indeed turn out to be a fun place to work, which may explain why the nurse turnover rate is far lower there than the national average.
“I am very happy to have had a chance to work with so many great nurses and they turn into lifelong friendships,” said Schmidt.