MONTGOMERY, Ala., Sept. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Each new baby born in Jackson Hospital's Family Birth Center now goes home with a cherished keepsake, thanks to Brittney O Roland, Special Care Nursery RN.
She handcrafts stuffed bunnies for each new baby, inscribed with the baby's name on the belly; the date and time of birth, weight, and length on the paws; and a "Stuffed with Love for Jackson Hospital" on the back. The inspiration for the rabbit was the "Nightingale of Paradise" mosaic mural by Enid Probst at the entrance to the Family Birth Center.
"Other hospitals have similar keepsakes, and I didn't want our moms to be disappointed," Roland said. "The moms' faces just light up and they're already posting them on Facebook. The bunnies add to their memories and the positivity of their birth experience at Jackson."
A fine arts major and former graphic designer, Roland spearheaded team brainstorming to come up with a design. Her artist's eye landed on the rabbit in the mural and she was inspired to create five prototypes to get the ears and features just right. The nursing team voted on the winning design and provided input on the face. Gina Anderson, Jackson's Chief Operating Officer & Chief Nursing Officer, suggested the cottontail.
So far Brittney has made 75 bunnies — September is Jackson's busiest birth month — buying the supplies herself and leaning on her graphic arts background. She has plans to create a template and instructions so that other sewers can help make more.
"Brittney is a talented and giving individual, and Jackson Hospital is lucky to have her," said Jackson Hospital Chief Executive Officer Ron Dreskin. "She and her team have launched a warm and wonderful tradition to welcome babies to the world and to the Jackson family, while providing a special memory for the family."
Nursing is her second career after a successful but unfulfilling career in graphic arts, working on giant consumer accounts and living in New York City. Born in Montgomery, she returned to Alabama and prayed on what her future should be while working on mission trips for her church, Centerpoint Fellowship Church in Prattville.
"God led me to nursing," she said. "Going to nursing school I had no time to work on my church missions and I'm years behind, so crafting bunnies for moms is how I'm giving back."
She joined Jackson Hospital as an MST-A, a nursing student tech, while working to support herself through nursing school and earned her Associate of Science in Nursing from Troy University's Montgomery Campus in December of 2023. Jackson quickly became her home and her coworkers became extended family.
"I was fortunate to benefit from Jackson's training classes, simulation hours, lectures, tutoring, clinicals, precepting, working as an unlicensed medical technician, becoming a new graduate resident nurse, and now a registered nurse," Roland says. "Jackson's commitment to the community, whether patients, friends, families, or those pursuing the healthcare field, is unmatched. That commitment is something I witnessed as a student and wanted to be a part of myself. It is a commitment of trust, care, respect, and safety that I try my best to make sure to extend it to my patients and their families."
About Jackson Hospital
Jackson Hospital ranks among the largest hospitals in Alabama and is widely recognized for providing excellence in care, including cardiac, cancer, neurosciences, orthopedics, and women's care, as well as 24-hour emergency care in Montgomery and the Alabama River Region. They are focused on delivering superior, patient-centered, cost-effective care in a safe, compassionate environment. For more information visit www.jackson.org
Media Contact
Keith Adamson, Jackson Hospital & Clinic, 1 334-293-4046, [email protected], www.jackson.org
SOURCE Jackson Hospital & Clinic
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