NORFOLK, Va. — A surprise at work turned into a heartfelt celebration for a nurse practitioner who has made it her mission to support new mothers.
Jessica Schafer, a family nurse practitioner and lactation consultant at Sentara Leigh Hospital, thought she was getting new photographs taken at work. Instead, she was surprised with a News 3 Everyday Hero Award.
“This is really, really wild,” Schafer said with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for acknowledging the things that I do and that our hospital does and that my team does. I really appreciate it.”
“The next day [after our story aired], a grandma called about her daughter who had just had a baby and said, ‘Hey, I need to talk to Jessica Schafer. I saw her on the news and my daughter's really struggling.’ So, we got her daughter some help and it's been great. And even if it was just one person, it was like, oh my God, this is so amazing,” Schafer said.
For Schafer, the mission is deeply personal.
“I feel like mothers are the actual heroes,” she said. “They deserve so much support, and they deserve to be listened to. I’m so thankful every day that I was put in a position to be able to support these mamas and know that they’re not alone.”
One of the ways she provides that support is through “mom groups” at the hospital — and colleagues say her impact has been transformative.
“We had a mom group before her that had one or two patients that came and then COVID hit and nobody came because we had to shut it down. When we restarted it and when Jess took over, it exploded and I know it's [because of] the way she relates to people,” said Lori Poul, a registered nurse at Sentara Leigh.
Poul describes Schafer as relentless in advocating for her patients.
“Jess is a bulldog when it comes to that,” she said. “She will fight for you and fight with you and challenge you. I can't say enough about Jess.”
Ashley Kelly-Barnes, manager of patient care services, said Schafer’s dedication extends beyond her patients — she has felt it personally.
“I really think from a minority community with Black moms, it is really hard to sometimes breastfeed,” Kelly-Barnes said. “We have one of the lowest breastfeeding rates, and she really empowered me to say, ‘You can do this.’ I wasn’t as successful with my firstborn, but when I partnered with Jess [for my son], it was a game changer.”
Ashley Blue, a clinical nurse manager at the hospital, echoed that praise.
“She is that person who will go to the end of the earth for you,” Blue said. “And she does it for each and every person. She pours into my nurses. She helps to educate them and transfers that over to her patients each and every day.”
In recognition of her work, Southern Bank also presented Schafer with $425 to support her efforts and bring more awareness to resources available for new mothers.
“This is very validating and I’m so thankful for it,” Schafer said. “But this just makes it to where people can become aware of all the support that we’re offering for these mamas.”
As Schafer continues answering the call to serve families in Norfolk, her colleagues say her compassion and advocacy are changing lives — one mother at a time.
