Emplify Health by Gundersen’s superheroes wear bead necklaces
LA CROSSE, Wis. - Courtney Snorek cares for our youngest patients at the most critical times.
Snorek is one of four respiratory therapists on Emplify Health by Gundersen's Neonatal Transport Team in La Crosse.
When a child in the region needs help, her team has 30 minutes to help prepare supplies for GundersenAIR or Tri-State Ambulance.
Incubator? Check.
Ventilator? Check.
Bead necklaces made by son, Henry? Those too.
“He knows I fly to help babies. He thinks I’m a superhero,” Courtney said. “It’s pretty cool that a child can recognize the work we do here is really amazing."
Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
The Neonatal Transport Team brings children as young as 22 weeks from outlying hospitals to the NICU at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. The transport team, originally nurse practitioners (NPs) and respiratory therapists (RTs), is transitioning from NPs to RNs for more immediate mobilization.
“We take our isolette that has an incubator, ventilator, monitor and two bags – one for the RN supplies and one for the RT supplies,” Courtney said.
It’s tireless, critical work. In Henry’s eyes, it’s the work of superheroes.
“In the early days of the pandemic, we’d sit outside together on Gundersen’s campus and Henry would thank employees for their hard work,” Courtney said.
Henry Necklaces
Henry, then 3, started to bead when Courtney came home from work exhausted from the strain and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He did what he could to help. He made a necklace for his superhero. And then he made more.
“I started delivering his necklaces to the team in the ICU and, from there, word just started to spread,” Courtney said.
Today, more than 200 superheroes at Emplify Health wear “Henry Necklaces.” On each, Henry beads a simple message of encouragement – like ‘Smile brightly – and signs it with a heart and a bead with an ‘H.’
“I’m happy I’m raising a good human,” Courtney said. “That’s more important to me than what he does when he grows up. We all benefit from encouraging each other to be good humans.”
