Baby nurse's caring touch soothed so many

As the oldest of four siblings, she helped raise her brother and sisters, holding them when they were infants, tending to them when they were sick, looking out for them when they got older.

She displayed similar tenderness in her career as a neonatal nurse, ministering to at-risk babies, quelling the fears of new parents and remaining calm during crises.

"No wonder she became such a wonderful nurse. ... She just had this nurturing, soft touch about her, and I know everybody that has come into her life has felt that too, and that's why they loved her so much," said her sister, Danita Daily. "She had a really beautiful soul. She as a pure person."

It's no wonder that when Malisewski needed support several weeks ago after being hospitalized, she found herself surrounded by family members, friends and fellow nurses. Still, the combined power of their love, hope, medical expertise and prayers was not enough to heal the mother of two, who died Dec. 16 from complications of flu and pneumonia. She was 55.

"She was absolutely wonderful. There was never a room she walked into that she didn't light up," said Linda Kreuzer, who met Malisewski in the late 1970s when they worked in the University Medical Center neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) together. "She was so passionate about the babies, and she had such a heart for the most fragile among us."

Malisewski was born in Minnesota and, as a girl, moved to Tucson with her family. After earning her nursing degree from the University of Arizona, she took a job in what was then a fairly new specialty field, working with medically fragile babies in the NICU.

"In her heart, she loved babies. She was a loving and caring person, and she wanted to make a difference in babies' and children's lives," said her son, Andy Bratt of California.

In the mid-1980s, Malisewski left the NICU, but not the babies. For the last 23 years she has worked with a state program conducting home visits of high-risk newborns after they leave the hospital to monitor their development and offer practical and emotional support to the parents.

"This is something that she loved. It really enabled her to make a difference and have an impact on families and their outcome," said Maggie Dyet, who met Malisewski in 1978 when they worked in the NICU, and in recent years helped her with home visits.

In addition to charting the children's growth, nutrition and development, Malisewski - and the nurses who worked for her - provided education for the parents, accompanied families to doctor appointments, made referrals for community services, helped with medical-insurance problems and was available at all hours to answer calls from parents with questions.

"Our kids loved her. She was just so fun," said Ami Bunch, the mother of triplets. "She just comes into the house and the babies think she's playing with them, even though she's assessing their development and checking their stats. She was so great with them. She was really made for that job. We were so excited for her to come over and see how proud she'd be of the babies" progress.

Malisewski saw 30 to 40 babies a month, and had been stressed recently, worried that state budget cuts would eliminate the Newborn Intensive Care Program, friends said.

"She had such a gift," said Pam Vondrak, who met Malisewski while working at UMC and helped with the home-visitation program.

"When she would go into a home, she was completely at ease and made her family feel at ease, and had a presence of kindness and compassion and healing," Vondrak said. "She was very astute at seeing what problem the baby had, and she knew the right resources.

"She came in. She flipped off her shoes. And she'd get down on the floor with that baby, and you could just see the mom relaxing and the baby relaxing, and she could do a simple little things to show how to massage the baby or give them tummy time or whatever they needed. She could reassure those moms and give good advice. She took care of thousands of babies in Pima County just in this home program.

"Some people are just so motivated, and for Kim, her energy really was in this job," said Vondrak. "She really put her energy into taking care of these babies. We took care of them up to age 3, and you really become part of their families. She was almost a second mom to these babies as well."

The energy she put into her infant clients was redoubled when focused on her own children, Andy and Becca Bratt.

"She was the most amazing mother you could ever ask for," said her son. "She was loving, caring, raised us in a way that we learned how to become responsible adults. She showed us tough love when she had to, but she was always there for us, always proud."

Her children were equally proud of their mother.

"She touched so many lives and so many people, and she'll continue to do so through the people she's … worked with who will carry on her work," he said.

To suggest someone for Life Stories, contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.