In Her Footsteps: Esther Ong and Her Five Children Provide Care for Their Community
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hen Esther Ong moved to Los Angeles from the Philippines and was seeking a nursing job, her brother gave her a tour of the Adventist Health hospital in Glendale. She knew almost right away it was the place for her. “When I had my tour, I felt the ambience,” Esther recalled. “I said, OK, I think I’ll be working at Glendale!” Esther achieved her goal and Karen Ong, left, and her mother, Esther Ong, right, after administering a started working there in 2003. COVID-19 vaccine. Throughout her 19 years with Adventist Health, Esther has worked as a staff nurse, that ‘The family that works together, stays together,’” preceptor, relief charge nurse, and now as a telemetry she said with a laugh. educator at White Memorial—and in the process, she Karla—the second oldest of Esther’s children—was started an unlikely family tradition. All five of her children first in line. After working in nursing for three years at now work as medical professionals at Adventist Health. Glendale, she’s now a nurse practitioner at Adventist “As soon as [my kids] reached high school, I enrolled Health Bakersfield. them in the White Memorial Foundation as hospital “As a nurse, you’re the one that’s most remembered volunteers,” Esther said. “The purpose of that was to by the patient,” Karla said. “I’ve been a patient myself, keep them busy with activities in the summertime so I kind of know how it is on the other end of things, instead of being in the house playing with gadgets all and I think that drives you to become better for your day long, and in addition to that, for them to see the patients.” bigger picture of the healthcare system.” Karla added that her mother has involved her Esther considers her children’s volunteer experiences family in medical mission trips throughout their life, to be at least one factor in their decisions to become which have also shaped their goals as a family and healthcare providers. “It’s like we’re following the saying as individuals. “I think that did influence a lot of our decisions, going into healthcare and becoming the professionals that we are,” she said. The eldest Ong sibling, Karen, is also a nurse by training and now serves as Employee Health Manager at Adventist Health White Memorial. She sees her professional mission as a family mission, as well. “Our mission is to get people better,” Karen said, “especially those who really are in need.” Karen said compassion, understanding, and patience were words and values she grew up with. “Not everybody is as lucky as we are,” she said. “I’m grateful to my mom for guiding us with the principles that she has taught us since we were small.” Esther Ong has been a nurse with Adventist Health for ____________________ nearly 20 years and has started an unlikely tradition: By Kirsten Cutler All five of her children also work at Adventist Health.
Adventist Health
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