UH NURSES: THEIR STORIES More than a career, health care is a calling. UH nurses, who demonstrate excellence in care and compassion, share the human experiences that make their work challenging and rewarding.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we had no “idea what we were signing up for, but we got through it together as a team. If there is one thing that the past couple years have shown us, it is that there is an even greater need for bedside nurses. It takes a special kind of person to be a nurse, and any day that I can positively impact or make a difference in my patients’ care is my best day.
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I moved four years ago from India, where I was an ICU nurse. I chose to work at UH because they were so nice, so professional, and I was so impressed with the manager who called me. I am totally new to the United States – I worked in a different environment in India – but whenever I needed help, everyone was there for me. It was beyond my imagination. My team members are like family to me.
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Harjot Kang, RN
Heidi Schneider, RN
ICU UH Ahuja Medical Center
Surgical Telemetry UH TriPoint Medical Center
I work with the most compassionate and caring “individuals. The way we all got through the COVID-19
is a nurse’s hospital, where nursing is valued “andUHnurses have a say-so in policies and decisions that affect patient care. I’ve spent many years of my career working here. I like the vision that CEO Dr. Cliff Megerian has for UH. There is such a focus on giving back to the community and addressing health care disparities, which is important to me.
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Keli Higbee-Todd, MSN, RN-BC Nurse Manager of Medical/Telemetry Unit UH Cleveland Medical Center
worked about 15 years, first as a paramedic in “theI’veEmergency Department and then as an RN in both the ICU and the ED. UH has been so supportive of my career, while going to school, having four children and caring for patients. UH Parma has the familiar feel of a smaller hospital, where you know many people you’ve worked with for years, and yet you have all the resources of a major medical center. As a nurse, you feel like you can take on anything.
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Christopher Young, BSN, RN, EMT-P Emergency Department UH Parma Medical Center
“
pandemic was banding together, encouraging each other and just showing up for each other on the job. As stressful as it was, I had comfort in knowing when I walked through those doors at the hospital, my co-workers had my back and I had theirs.
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Meghan Stevenson, RN Medical/Surgical and COVID-19 Floor UH Geauga Medical Center
In nursing, the best days can also be mixed “with the worst. In the opening months of the initial pandemic surge, I had a COVID-19 patient dying from respiratory failure, and families at that time were not allowed to visit in person. His BiPap mask made a video connection too difficult for communication, so he took off his mask to say goodbye to his family via video. When he closed his eyes and said he was ready to let go, I held his hand until he passed 20 minutes later; my amazing co-workers covered my other ICU patients while I sat with him. A few days later, his daughters sent cards and flowers expressing their thankfulness.
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Jonathan Vega, BSN, RN ICU UH Samaritan Medical Center
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University Hospitals • 2021 Annual Report
