Most of Jennifer Mielnik's life is spent at the bedside of expecting mothers. The 37-year-old Covington mother relishes her job in labor and delivery at The Birth Place at Rockdale Medical Center, where there's usually a joyous environment around the new arrivals.
“The miracle of childbirth has always amazed me,” Mielnik said. “It’s always been what I wanted to do. At Rockdale, we have about 170 and 200 deliveries a month and I get to be part of that. It’s a very rewarding job.”
For Mielnik, the best part of her job is sharing the miracle with families.
“I love seeing their reactions and being a part of that,” she said. “It’s wonderful to help bring a baby into the world. Most of the time, that makes it a happy place to be.”
Last November, Mielnik put her nursing skills to work outside the labor and delivery room. She was at a Kroger store in Conyers when a woman drove her SUV up a parking lot pole. The vehicle was locked and running.
Another passerby broke the window, and once Mielnik could get to the driver she realized the woman was having a grand mal seizure.
“My daughter has epilepsy, so I knew immediately what to do,” Mielnik said. “There actually was another nurse there, but she was so hysterical, I had to take care of her, too. It really was an unusual event.”
Kellie Adams, Mielnik’s co-worker at Rockdale Medical Center, witnessed the incident and recounted the story in a letter nominating Mielnik for recognition.
“The woman had a grand mal seizure and drove her SUV into a large cement block,” Adams wrote. “It lifted the front end of the car completely off the ground.
“Because the car was locked and running and the woman was still seizing, Jennifer and another witness jumped into action. They broke the window and pulled the woman out to safety. Jennifer then gave the woman medical attention until the paramedics came to the scene.”
Mielnik’s instincts and medical background helped divert a tragedy, Adams said.
“Jennifer deserves special recognition because she instinctively jumped in to rescue someone in the community who was in need,” she wrote. “Because of her medical background, she knew exactly what to do.”
Mielnik agrees that her lifesaving actions were reflexive, the result of years of training.
“And I guess I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” she said.
About the Author
