May 30, 2024
Photo courtesy of Jenny Wilson
“Women are powerful. We can do anything,” she said.
Wilson knows about taking action to make a difference. As Director of Emergency Services at Kern Medical, she interacts with patients and practitioners every day. A nurse for more than 20 years, she has led executive roles in other local health systems with grace, success and accomplishments, including the opening of Dignity Health’s pediatric emergency room. Now with more than a decade of supervisory experience in ERs, Wilson will also open another specialized emergency facility focused on children for Kern Medical this fall.
Extending solutions to problems Wilson has seen at work has also characterized her life. She is the founder and president of the Sleepy Baby Box Foundation. Wraparound services, from infant food and material goods to safety coordination, are available paired with intentional education outreach.
Wilson started the nonprofit in 2017. It has aided more than 15,000 clients since opening, with about 30 caregivers currently seeking services each day, including about 200 recurring clients every month.
“When I was working the ER, my son was about two years old and I was doing rounds one day when I heard shrill cries. The sound was so loud and so violent that I stopped and asked the nurses what that noise was, what was going on,” she explained. “They explained that an 18-year-old mother had woken up on top of her baby, who died in bed. A few months later, a dad smothered his baby while sleeping in a recliner.”
In the same way many European countries distribute a new baby box complete with an open cardboard container for makeshift safe sleep along with other essentials, the foundation provides goods, services and information.
“We see so many preventable accidents in early childhood, from SIDS [Sudden Infant Death Syndrome] to falls down the stairs, burns from the microwave, drowning and more. The Sleep Baby Box Foundation came about as a focal point for education that morphed into educational initiatives for children like carseat and water safety,” said Wilson. “We know people need baby items but while they’re here to pick something up, the goal is to combine tangible products with education so I don’t see them in the ER later.”
Services are open to all, with barriers like income verification, insurance and immigration status removed.
“If you say you need help, we will give you help, no questions asked. I wanted to make that part of the nonprofit because sometimes, we as parents feel bad about asking for help or think it may not be given to us,” said Wilson. “Here, all children qualify. We will not turn you away.”
Originally from a small fishing village in Newfoundland, Wilson started her career in Bakersfield.
A single mother of three children, ages 6, 8 and 12, she is successfully co-parenting her children after divorce.
“Just focusing on the love and how much we both had in common has been a path forward,” she said. “The fact that we both love them so much has helped us move on; it takes a lot more energy to be angry than to just forgive. Even though we didn't work out, it doesn't mean our kids can't have the best life. Our goal as parents was to make sure the divorce only minimally affect them and I’ve been learning to live life as a single mom. To live your life with gratefulness and forgiveness is a choice. We all have choices to make that can empower us and be opportunities instead of obstacles.”
In her own words: Q&A with Jenny Wilson
Q. We often talk with mothers in phases of life that can seem lonely or isolating, especially as they raise young children. What advice do you have for respite and renewal for women going through that phase of life?
A. I make it a priority to get up an hour before my kids each morning. That means I’m making it happen to have five hours alone each week. I make sure to take that time for myself. I also have time in the evenings because we have an established routine. We always have dinner at the table, talk and then do homework. Then, the kids go and play for an hour. That's my hour to clean up dinner and maybe call my Mom or a friend and find out how her day went, just to decompress. I also like gardening. Pulling weeds, mowing the lawn and netting the pool are activities that zen me and cause everything else to melt away. On Sundays, we go to church. Spirituality is big in my life and my children’s life. Without my faith in God, I may not be where I am today.
Q. Do you have any hidden talents? What's something I would never guess upon meeting you? I can drive a snowmobile and fish. I could feed my family if I had a lake and a fishing rod.
Q. What should families in the Kern County area know more about in their community? There are so many resources in our community but there is the perception they are for low income families. It is often actually the lower middle class that struggles a lot. We're a one-of-a kind nonprofit in that regard, so the Sleepy Baby Box Foundation should be on something everyone knows about.
Q. What is your parenting PSA?
Where a lot of parents lack is knowledge. All of our curriculum at the Sleep Baby Foundation is
created with resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics and by healthcare providers.
List of Jenny Wilson’s seven top parenting PSAs:
Kids aren't little adults. Be aware of the development milestones that your children have to reach.
Know CPR and the safety hazards that are all around.
Keep tabs on your child’s phone, including their apps and social media.
Recognize that sex trafficking can happen in middle school.
Know who your kids are hanging out with.
Don't let your guard down as they age.
At all ages, choose not to cut corners. Accidents are preventable; for example, so many children come into the ER after not being strapped into their carseats.
Fill-in-the-blank questions:
I'm always laughing at... my 6 and 8 year old getting in an argument.
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is... hit the snooze button for 10 minutes.
Today, the strangest thing in my purse is... Flat Stanley.
My favorite food is... poutine.
My favorite dessert is...tiramisu.
In my pantry, you will always find... Nutella, chocolate chip muffins and fruit snacks.
Before I go out, I always make sure I have... a cup of coffee.
My favorite music group is... Imagine Dragons.
The best book I've read lately is... the Bible. Every time I read it, I get something different from it.
So far, my best life advice is... don't worry about things that are out of your control.
