Legendary Nurse Created a Career Legacy

On March 27, 2026, GBMC lost legendary Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse Sandra K. “Sandie” Smith. She was 84. 

A nurse for more than 41 years, Sandie cared for thousands of babies in her 20-plus-year career at GBMC. Although she never had any children, Sandie treated all of her patients as though they were her own. 

Sandie was always proud that she was at GBMC’s original groundbreaking in 1965 when former President and retired Five-star World War II General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed the audience. 

Several years ago, Sandie became a member of GBMC’s Elizabeth Duncan Yaggy Society when she designated GBMC’s NICU as the sole beneficiary of a life insurance policy that she purchased years ago. 

One of Sandie’s favorite pastimes was sharing with friends her scrapbooks filled with countless photos of herself with babies, marking a life of compassion and care -- a physical representation with memories of being every GBMC baby’s favorite aunt. 

Sandie’s generosity did not end with her NICU bequest. For several years, Sandie donated critical funds that secured parking for NICU parents and families, so they did not have to worry about paying for parking when they visited their little ones in the NICU – often in stressful times. 

In a 2022 interview, Sandie said, “I loved the NICU. I loved the newborn nursery. It was a tremendous group of nurses who worked there. There’s still a family feeling, even now. It’s because of the people and their commitment to patients and each other. I still miss it to this day.” 

Until her passing, Sandie recalled dozens of families, many of whom had stayed connected with her. She recounted helping to deliver the first quadruplets ever born at GBMC, along with the year GBMC delivered more than eight sets of triplets. There were Christmas memories of running to the Ritz Camera store in the Kenilworth mall to print photos of babies with “Santa,” also known as her late husband, Bob, who worked in the maintenance department at GBMC as an electrician. 

“I had known Bob for 14 years as a friend and all of a sudden, the romance bloomed,” Sandie said. “Bob came down one night in the spring to change the clocks and he asked me to dinner. After he came for another dinner at my house one Good Friday, we were married three weeks later. We are one of the wonderful love stories of GBMC.” 

Sandie had been fully retired since 2003, when she needed more time to care for Bob, who died three years later of complications related to a heart condition. 

The relationships Sandie formed with GBMC families, colleagues, and friends over the years stood the test of time. For Sandie, her GBMC family became very real. Her time at GBMC touched every part of her life, and her scrapbooks indicate she created bonds that extended much farther than GBMC’s campus. 

Today, Sandie’s charitable gifts have allowed those connections to extend even beyond her lifetime.