Logan Health staff celebrates 10 pregnancies in two units

Two units at Logan Health hospital in Kalispell are welcoming several new bundles of joy. 

Ten staff members are or have recently been pregnant in the intensive care and intermediate care units. The women say it’s allowed them to share advice and feel a sense of camaraderie, whether it’s their first, second or third child. 

Gina Trubet works in the intermediate care unit and is pregnant with twins. 

“It's been nice, they’re my first, so it's nice to get advice and support from the moms that have already had kids. We get to talk about all the fun and not fun symptoms you go through,” Trubet said. 

At a recent baby shower for the women at Logan Health, a few of them shared what the experience has been like to go through pregnancy alongside so many of their coworkers. 

It’s not Lo Martz’s first, but she is excited to be in the fray. She works in the ICU and her partner also works at the hospital. She said it’s been fun to compare notes and check in on each other. 

“It's really sweet and our co-workers don't let us turn patients or do any heavy lifting. They're like ‘Lo get out of the way, we got this stuff!’ So, it's really nice to feel like everyone's there for you while you're just feeling large and in charge,” Martz said. 

Bekah Rieke said after she had her first child and returned to work she realized how complementary the job is with having a family. It provides a flexible schedule and lends itself to caregiving. 

“It just works well with our family and it kind of falls along that same line of caring for people, right? You're caring for your family, you're caring for your babies and you're also caring for your patients,” Rieke said. “It just kind of settles well with like, the whole nursing career and the idea of nursing, but it's been especially fun this time having so many other people that I can celebrate along with them,” 

Briahna Gillespie also works in intermediate care and was the last one to announce her pregnancy.

“It was hard to keep it a secret,” Gillespie said. 

Logan Health Clinical Nurse Manager Barb McConnell said it’s been fun and exciting to watch so many of her staff go through pregnancy at the same time. 

“Three months ago we had a staff meeting and I said, ‘Listen, we have a lot of people who are pregnant, like six.’ I left the meeting, but somebody texted me and said, ‘I didn’t catch you after the meeting. But I was going to tell you…’ and I literally texted back and said, ‘You're pulling my leg,’” McConnell said.

Soon there were 10 women pregnant in the units. She said staffing can be a concern when this many people are out on leave, but they are proactive in mitigating any issues. She said the priority is day-to-day making sure the women are comfortable at work. 

“The easier you make their lives, the better off it is for everybody involved,” McConnell said. “We have a lactation area, just making sure that that's set up correctly … Because really, in the past, we've had kind of one at a time, so it's not really an issue, and now you have multiple people possibly using the same space throughout the day — so planning ahead for that and what that looks like.” 

Shift Supervisor Cassidy Lilienthal said the staff has worked together to cover certain duties if someone came in feeling nauseous or not up to the task. She said it’s exciting to go through the journey with them, all the way until they give birth at the hospital. 

“Our units are very much family-oriented and we're a big family. So, it's kind of nice that we're going to be able to see them deliver and go visit them in OB (obstetrics.)” Lilienthal said. 

She said it’s been nice to watch the hospital system support growing families. 

“We cherish moms as nurses because they care for our communities as if it's their family too. So, especially when you get a family of your own, you feel that even more,” Lilienthal said. 

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.