05/15/2026
As our leaders reflect on the meaning and impact of this important week, National Nurses Week, we’re pleased to share a message from our Chief Operating Officer, Jessica Gennow, RN:
As we wrap up Nurses Week, I’ve been reflecting on the people in healthcare who have shaped not only my career, but who I am as a person.
When I graduated high school, like most young people, I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do with my life. I was enrolled to go to college for accounting and thought that was the direction my future was headed.
But when I was 18 years old, a loved one was in a terrible car accident and was airlifted to the hospital. He spent days in a medically induced coma, and I spent countless hours sitting beside him. I remember one night hearing him begin to gag from the medications he was receiving. I rang the call light, but no one came right away. I had watched the nurses suction him before, so through tears and fear, I grabbed the suction equipment and tried to help him myself.
A nurse finally came into the room, and instead of being upset, she calmly told me I was doing a great job. She then took the time to show me how to help with his wound care too.
That moment changed the course of my life.
It wasn’t just the medical care — it was the kindness, patience, and compassion of that nurse and the entire team that impacted me so deeply. In one of the scariest moments of my young life, they made me feel supported instead of helpless. From that point on, I knew I wanted to become a nurse.
There was a three-year wait to get into nursing school, so while I waited, I completed my Business degree at UWRF. The day I graduated, I started my nursing journey.
Along the way, I was blessed with incredible instructors who taught far more than clinical skills. They taught bedside manner, humility, humor, and how to care for people like family. My classmates became family too. We cried together through the stress of nursing school, celebrated victories together, and somehow survived countless exams, clinicals, and happy hours along the way.
Now, looking back on nearly 18 years in nursing, I realize how profoundly every single person in healthcare has impacted my life.
Every nurse.
Every nursing assistant.
Every therapist.
Every administrator.
Every support staff member.
You have all helped shape me in ways I can never fully explain.
Some of my closest friendships today are with people I met on my very first nursing floor. Others are leaders and owners of companies I’ve had the privilege of working alongside over the years. I feel beyond blessed by the people this profession has brought into my life.
I could never possibly thank every single person individually for the impact they’ve had on me, but I hope you know how much you matter.
I also know I’m not alone in feeling this way.
For every healthcare worker reading this, there are countless patients, families, coworkers, and friends whose lives you’ve touched more than you’ll ever realize. People remember the moments you showed up for them when they were scared, exhausted, grieving, or overwhelmed. They remember your kindness.
So while Nurses Week may be coming to an end, appreciation for nurses and healthcare workers should never be limited to just one week.
These are truly angels on Earth.
And if you have a loved one in a facility or healthcare setting, please try to give grace. Many healthcare workers walk into shifts already knowing they may be short staffed, overwhelmed, and emotionally exhausted — and they still show up anyway.
They show up because their hearts are too big to leave this field.
To every healthcare worker who has ever cared for someone, mentored someone, encouraged someone, or simply shown kindness when it was needed most — thank you.
You matter more than you know.
