Mom Credits Phoebe Worth ER with Saving Baby’s Life
Sylvester, GA | March 12, 2026 – For Kimberly Blackshear, a mother of six, a routine trip to the pediatrician quickly turned into a life-or-death race against time. When her infant son, Keyng, was found to have dangerously low oxygen levels, he was rushed to Phoebe Worth Medical Center, a move that Kimberly credits with saving his life.
“Everyone just jumped right in to help with getting my baby breathing. All the staff was doing their best,” said Blackshear.
When Keyng arrived at Phoebe Worth Medical Center, the medical team immediately identified that he was in respiratory distress. While the staff worked tirelessly to stabilize him, the situation became critical when the infant experienced rapid blood oxygen desaturation.
“Anytime a baby comes in, it’s all hands-on deck. Everybody jumps in and does whatever needs to be done to save that baby’s life. Our instincts just kick in,” said Nina Gunn, BSN, Phoebe Worth Emergency Center Nurse Manager.
The response was a testament to the “family-first” culture at Phoebe Worth. While on-duty staff worked on Keyng, Kendrika Johnson – an off-duty respiratory therapist who works at Phoebe Worth and in the neonatal intensive care unit at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany – rushed to Phoebe Worth to assist in “bagging” (manually ventilating) Keyng until an air ambulance crew arrived.
“They were more than just nurses, they were moms. They were very kind and stayed by my side, reassuring me that everything was going to be okay,” said Blackshear.
Keyng was airlifted to the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital in Macon and later to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where specialists discovered the root of the crisis: Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare congenital heart defect. On September 10, the day he turned three months old, Keyng underwent successful corrective heart surgery.
Today, at nine months old, Keyng is a thriving 24-pound “happy baby.” While he continues to receive physical therapy to reach developmental milestones delayed by his surgery, his recovery has been nothing short of miraculous.
“Phoebe Worth may be a smaller hospital, but the heart and the skill there are unmatched. Unless you see the scar from his surgery, you’d never know what he’s been through. He’s just a normal, happy baby,” said Blackshear.
While many critical access hospitals in rural areas across the country are in danger of closing, Phoebe Worth is thriving. Thanks to strong local leadership, contributions through the Georgia HEART Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program and the benefits of being part of Phoebe Putney Health System, Phoebe Worth continues to expand services and find new ways to serve the community.
“Serving patients like Keyng Blackshear is exactly what we are here,” said Kim Gilman, President of Phoebe Worth Medical Center. “We have invested in our Emergency Center, enhancing our facilities and ensuring we always have a board-certified physician on duty, for situations just like this. We want our community to know they can get quick, quality emergency care at Phoebe Worth, and if they need a level of care we cannot provide, we will stabilize them and quickly get them to the appropriate hospital,” Gilman added.
The bond that Blackshear formed with the Phoebe Worth team during those critical hours in the Phoebe Worth EC remains strong. Staff members, including Gunn, still reach out to the Blackshear family to check on Keyng’s progress.
“Because we’re a small town, those relationships matter. I still check on him regularly to make sure he’s growing and maturing which matters for our community commitment,” Gunn said.
For the team at Phoebe Worth, Keyng isn’t just a patient success story; he is a reminder that in the moments when seconds count most, having a family of experts close to home makes all the difference.
“I’ve been at Phoebe Worth for 17 years, and I take pride in our work and our commitment to provide care to all ages in the community,” said Gunn.