SARASOTA, Fla. (May 8, 2026) – As Mother’s Day approaches, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is celebrating the inspiring journey of former NICU nurse and new mother Tamika Isidore, a woman whose connection to the health system has come full circle through healing, motherhood and hope.
A Tampa resident, Isidore first came to Sarasota Memorial as a nursing student. Inspired by the compassion and teamwork she experienced at SMH, she pursued a career in neonatal intensive care nursing and later joined the Sarasota hospital’s NICU team, until the commute and family obligations prompted her to seek a nursing job closer to home.
Although she no longer works at SMH, Isidore said it was the only place she wanted to deliver her first child.
“The people at Sarasota Memorial always felt special to me,” she said. “Just in case I had to come to the NICU, I know that they work hard, and I know it’s such a great environment.”
Her concern became reality when a routine exam with SMH’s First Physicians Group OB/GYN Kelly Hamel, MD, revealed that her baby’s heart rate kept dropping. Isidore underwent an emergency cesarean section, delivering daughter Tamia Blakey at 31 weeks and 5 days gestation. Tamia weighed 4 pounds at birth and was admitted to the NICU.
For Isidore, the experience carried an even deeper meaning because it was not her first time relying on SMH during a difficult chapter in life. Several years earlier, she was diagnosed with tongue cancer and treated by First Physicians Group head and neck surgeon Peter Vosler, MD, at SMH’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute.
Now cancer-free and celebrating her first Mother’s Day with baby Tamia, Isidore is sharing heartfelt thanks for the care she has received at SMH. “Both situations could have been traumatic. But the cancer surgery and the c-section came out perfectly. I came out of both experiences beyond happy.”
SMH caregivers say Isidore’s story reflects the strength of mothers and the lasting bonds between patients and healthcare teams.
“Tamika started as a new graduate nurse here, and she’s come back to us now as a NICU mom,” says Katie Clementi, BSN, CLC, Clinical Manager at the SMH NICU. “While we don’t ever hope anyone has a NICU stay, we are so thankful she chose us to care for her baby. To watch her grow as a nurse and now to watch her grow as a mom is really special to us.”
SMH NICU mothers, including Isidore, will receive special cards with handprints and footprints from their babies to help celebrate Mother’s Day.
For more of Isidore's incredible story, watch the video below:
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional medical center offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with about 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers, 11,000 employees and 2 million patient visits annually across its network of care. Sarasota County’s largest employer, the community-owned health system includes two full-service hospitals in Sarasota and Venice, freestanding ERs in North Port and Lakewood Ranch, a rehabilitation hospital, behavioral health hospital, skilled nursing facility and comprehensive network of outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Founded in 1925, SMH’s flagship Sarasota hospital is the only Florida hospital to earn a perfect 5-Star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — every year — since the federal rating program began in 2016. Sarasota Memorial also serves as a regional safety net. With the only two hospitals in Sarasota County providing maternity care, SMH delivered more than 4,860 babies in 2025. Visit smh.com for information.
About SMH’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute
The Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute at Sarasota Memorial is a center of excellence that provides advanced cancer care across the entire continuum— from prevention, screening and diagnosis to advanced treatments, clinical trials and survivorship support. The Cancer Institute's world-class facilities include an 8-story oncology inpatient and surgical tower that opened on the Sarasota hospital campus in 2021, a Radiation Oncology Center that opened on the University Parkway outpatient campus in 2020, and the new Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion with a full slate of outpatient services slated to open in 2026. Learn more at smh.com/cancer.