“This is Where I Belong”: Olivia Johnson’s Story

Olivia Johnson always knew she wanted to care for others. “When I was in nursing school, I was drawn to pediatrics,” she said. “There’s just something so special about helping children and their families.” After earning her RN degree from Ivy Tech in Evansville, Olivia began her career in inpatient pediatrics. But when she and her family moved back to her hometown of Vincennes, she found herself seeking a different path, one that eventually led her to Good Samaritan and the OB department.

At first, I didn’t know if OB was for me,” Olivia admitted. “But I had a child of my own and had worked in pediatrics, so that’s half of it, right?” she said with a smile. Encouraged by a former coworker already working at Good Samaritan, Olivia applied and joined the OB team, quickly finding her place in what felt like a family. “Everyone was such a great team. Even on my very first day — which was an emergency C-section — they pulled together so smoothly. It left a lasting impression.”

But on an otherwise ordinary day, Olivia’s life changed in an instant.

“I was sitting at the nurse’s station, charting during a labor,” she recalled. “The patient was about to deliver. Everything was ready. And then my phone rang.” The call was from a family member: her 17 month old daughter, Delilah, was being rushed to the emergency room.

“I said, ‘I have to go,’ and my coworkers took over immediately. I ran to the ER.”

What followed was every parent’s worst nightmare. Olivia waited with her family in trauma room two as ER staff prepared for Delilah’s arrival. “They had the pediatric crash cart ready. I knew what that meant.” When Delilah arrived, Olivia and her husband were shielded from the most traumatic moments, an act of compassion that she still treasures.

“The ER team was incredible,” Olivia said. “They kept us updated every step of the way. They were professional, respectful, and so supportive. I know they did everything they could. As a nurse, I could see that. But Delilah’s injury was too severe. She was gone.”

In the wake of such a devastating loss, Olivia didn’t expect what came next.

“I had over 100 hours of PTO donated to me,” she said. “The Good Samaritan Foundation covered our entire ER bill. My coworkers even made hand and foot molds of Delilah, just like we do for newborns we lose. They worked so hard on them, they knew how much that would mean to me.”

Delilah was rarely seen without her beloved Minnie Mouse blanket, which she carried with her everywhere. In a touching tribute, Olivia’s manager, Madelyn Taylor, had a custom Minnie Mouse tie made for Olivia’s husband to wear at the funeral. “It wasn’t the exact fabric, but it didn’t matter,” Olivia recalled. “The thought behind it — that gesture — we’ll never forget it.”

Despite the heartbreak, Olivia never questioned returning to nursing or to Good Samaritan.

“I never once considered leaving OB,” she said. “I just needed time. When I did come back, I started with short shifts, and leadership was so supportive. They’d ask, ‘What do you need? What can we do for you?’ I gave myself grace. I let myself feel what I needed to feel.”

Even the walk to her car was a challenge. “It was the same path I ran when I got the call. That was hard,” she said quietly. “But this hospital is my home. These people are my family.”

Though she continued serving patients in OB, eventually Olivia decided to take a short break from bedside care to focus on her family, accepting a Monday–Friday position with the Indiana Department of Health. But after 10 months away, she found herself longing to return.

“I missed the people. The teamwork. The patients. I missed this place and the comfort of it. I needed to come back home,” she said. “That’s how Good Samaritan feels to me.”

Now working in inpatient rehabilitation, Olivia finds new ways to connect with her patients, many of whom are also navigating life-changing events. “I tell them, ‘It won’t always feel like this. Nothing stays the same forever. And you won’t always feel this lost.’”

She doesn’t tell every patient her story, but when she does, she finds it opens a door. “I may not know exactly what they’re going through, but I know what it’s like to have your life split into before and after. And that kind of pain connects you.”

Still, Olivia’s heart will always have a place in OB. “Leaving was hard. Those nurses are my friends. That patient population, bringing life into the world, it’s just so meaningful.”

But whether at the bedside of a laboring mom or a stroke patient learning to walk again, Olivia’s purpose remains the same: to care, to comfort, and to connect.

Olivia’s journey has been marked by deep compassion, personal loss, and incredible resilience. Through it all, Good Samaritan has remained a place of support, healing, and belonging. “I’ve always loved being a nurse,” she said. “And I couldn’t imagine doing it anywhere else but here.” Olivia wholeheartedly recommends Good Samaritan as a workplace, not just for the teamwork and care, but because it truly feels like family.