Ellen DaCorte, RN

If you’ve had a baby at MDI Hospital’s maternity department in this millennium, there’s a good chance you know Ellen DaCorte, RN. She is one of a handful of obstetric nurses who help guide expecting parents through pregnancy, labor and delivery, and beyond. “It’s very powerful to be a part of that family experience. They’re a part of your family.” It’s something Ellen can uniquely attest to not because she works there, because her two children were born at MDI Hospital.

With just 120 or so babies welcomed in to the community each year, MDI Hospital’s maternity department is considered small by many measures, and that’s just the way Ellen likes it. “We’re able to give that personalized touch to their special and unique experience.”

Like many students, Ellen didn’t find her true calling until after she graduated from college. So she went back to school to earn a nursing degree and focus on her interest in women’s health. Advance the calendar 15 years to today and her advocacy for women’s health has only grown stronger and is visible in and out of the hospital.

Ellen is deeply involved in developing education and outreach programs relating to expectant and new mothers, teen intimacy, and MDI Hospital’s Women’s Health Center. She is also in charge of fundraising for the elementary school her children attend and on the education board at her church. “I like putting my energy toward something that’s going to meet a need in our community.”

She also likes to direct her energy to harvesting some of nature’s bounty in the summertime. “I like to forage for berries and hoard them for use throughout the year, and I make awesome whoopie pies.”