As an ICU Cardiology Charge Nurse for the past 8 years here at ZSFG, Nora has put her heart into taking care of patient hearts every day. But her love for the community also beats outside the walls of our hospital. She was recently selected as an artist to express herself by designing a tabletop heart for SF General Hospital Foundation’s #HeartsInSF campaign.

Art has always been a way for Nora to relax and relieve stress – “an important part of staying heart healthy, by the way,” she reminds us. Spending over 100 hours carefully breaking plates and bowls provided by her parents in Florida and nearby friends for the project and strategically placing each of the 1,000+ mosaic pieces resulted in the beautiful artwork we see — a bright and colorful aura beaming around the heart sitting in the center. Nora laughed as she acknowledged the irony of the realistic heart on the heart shape. When asked about the inspiration behind her design, Nora couldn’t help but beam and share that it was an ode to her colleagues and the work we do here at ZSFG. “Everyone here just puts their heart and soul into everything they do! It’s one of the greatest things about working here at ZSFG!” – she said with pride. The warmth of the rainbow-like design is also a welcoming reminder for inclusivity.

With starting bids at $5,000 for each other hearts, Nora hopes somehow it’ll end up back on our campus but also hopes that wherever it ends up, that it makes someone’s heart smile too. The #HeartsinSF campaign was on display at the Ferry Building through February 2023.

View all #HeartsInSF here.