“Since I was 8 years old, I wanted to be a nurse,” said Holly Nelson, R.N., a registered nurse in UF Health Shands Occupational Health Services.

In 1980, Nelson became an employee at UF Health Shands. Little did she know that nearly 42 years later, her daughter, Mariah Fiore, B.S.N., R.N., neonatal/pediatric flight nurse with the UF Health ShandsCair Critical Care Transport Team, would follow in her career footsteps.

 While obtaining her degrees through the early entry nursing program at Santa Fe Community College — first as a L.P.N. and then as a R.N. — Nelson began her career working in the newborn nursery at UF Health Shands. After graduation, she became a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU. Next, Nelson worked as a neonatal/pediatric flight nurse with the UF Health ShandsCair Critical Care Transport Team, where she stayed for 19 years before moving into Occupational Health Services.

One week into her ShandsCair role, Nelson was hooked. She then met Paul Fiore, EMT, an emergency medical technician and driver, during her time with ShandsCair. Nelson and Fiore would eventually get married and have a daughter, Mariah, in 1995.

Mariah was a curious child that loved to play “nurse” with her plastic baby dolls. Mariah always knew she wanted to be a part of the health care field because of the legacy left before her — a flight nurse mother and an EMT father.

“When Mariah was little, she used to play with my custom-made helicopter charm necklace that one of our pilots gave me,” Nelson said.

Mariah always wanted to know her parents’ patient stories when she was younger, eagerly questioning them about their cases. Like her mom, she had a special interest in caring for babies.

Quickly falling in love with medicine, Mariah went through the Gainesville High School EMT program — The Academy of Health Professions — from her freshman to senior year.

“During her EMT program, Mariah was doing an overnight clinical and was observing a nurse place an IV. She was very light headed and almost passed out,” Fiore said. “She called me from the hospital bathroom in the middle of the night to tell me that ‘this career must not be for me.’”

Fiore explained to Mariah that “we all have those days” and encouraged her that it just takes time and practice in the medical profession to withstand blood and needles.

Narrowing in on a particular field, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to Mariah’s interest in the NICU.

Mariah’s story with UF Health began when she was in high school in 2013, working as a receptionist at ElderCare of Alachua County. Throughout her time there, she kept an eye out for support technician positions in the NICU and one became available a year later.

In 2015, Mariah began her own journey in a local college nursing program and worked as a personal care assistant, or P.C.A., in the UF Health Central Staffing Office. As she bounced around every unit in the hospital, she made many connections and gained experience as she simultaneously completed her clinicals at UF Health Shands before formally accepting her position as a trauma ICU nurse in the UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital Unit 4 West.

Mariah learned a lot on 4 West, but the NICU was where her heart longed to be.

“I had been told before that I probably wouldn’t be offered a position in the NICU right out of nursing school,” Mariah said. “I kind of just accepted that.”

After her mom’s co-worker called and mentioned that a nursing position was open in the NICU, Mariah applied on a whim and walked out of the interview not feeling confident about her prospects and thinking sarcastically, “Wow, that was fun.”

A day later, UF Health Shands Human Resources called Mariah to offer her the position.

“This was my main mission for a while and I was in the NICU for about two years. Then a neonatal flight nurse position opened up,” Mariah said.

Nelson was so excited for her daughter that she gifted Mariah her beloved helicopter charm necklace for good luck in her interview.

The necklace apparently did its job, as Mariah was offered a position with the ShandsCair team as a neonatal flight nurse in September 2021.

What’s the best part of Mariah becoming a flight nurse? She gets to lean on her mom for learning the ropes.

This learning process also is reversed, as Mariah teaches her mom things like new practices and innovative field techniques such as a neonatal electronic charting system, a cooling protocol for babies, occasional video assessments with physicians and more.

“I’m just proud to work here. I’ve seen this hospital grow. I’ve seen it improve. I’ve seen it have Magnet designation program status,” Nelson said. “And you know, it has evolved into such a wonderful place.”

Because flight suits take a while to be made — and Mariah was wearing a hand-me-down suit — Nelson found her old suit, which was a perfect fit for Mariah. It’s very sentimental for both of them as Mariah gets to wear her mom’s suit every day.

“With flight nursing, I have a whole new love for nursing,” Mariah said. “It’s just getting the patient where they need to be for the best possible care.”

According to Nelson, the neonatal/pediatric flight team is very tightknit. Even when the opposite shift is working, the other team would pop in and chat while discussing any pending transports. Daily tasks include prepping for their flights by making sure none of the medications or equipment onboard are expired, as well as helping out in the NICU wherever they are needed.

Not only is it fulfilling to carry on the ShandsCair legacy of her parents (who are now divorced but remain on friendly terms), but Mariah also gets to fly with some people that used to be Nelson’s flight nurse partners.