Fevers? Vomiting? Fussiness? How to manage the first night home from the hospital? These are just a few of the hundreds of questions from parents that Atlanta-based pediatric nurses Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter answered well into the night.It was the mid-1990s, and theirs was the only practice in town that offered on-call nurse responses around the clock. Hunter and Walker alternated work-from-home shifts, chatting with many of the practice's families.
"What if we just go to the house and help them figure that out?" Walker remembered one of the pediatricians she worked with suggesting in 2002. For example, Hunter's swaddle technique that calmed even the fussiest babies worked much better if it was demonstrated in person. It was a solution to the problem of the 15-minute office visit."We were helping with those questions so that when came in for their well visits, those questions were already answered. Not only did we go into their homes, but we supported them in the months after we left," Hunter said.The outcomes were astonishing."Babies were sleeping through the night. Parents were more confident. We didn't expect the results, and we were shocked at how consistent it was," Walker said.
Rogers' attorneys called the next day to provide all the information."He said, 'Y'all have got something here. Send this folder to a self-publishing company. Throw up a website. It'll cost you a few thousand bucks,'" said Hunter. The business was officially born in 2004. Walker added that they made mistakes."Not everyone that we encountered viewed or felt the same way about growing a business that is primarily focused on helping families. Sometimes that meant offering services at no charge. Or saying no to certain partnerships that didn't align with our business model."