Kids Health Matters
Topic: Gillette on the Job

When I work with my patients, something that comes out over time is that I understand the profound stress and anxiety that can come with caring for a child who has complex medical needs. I know this because I’ve devoted my career to working with patients who have disabilities, but also because I’ve lived it.

Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare has several members of our staff who are moms to Gillette patients. These devoted parents and employees help make Gillette a special place.

It’s National Nurse’s Week! Read about one of our many outstanding nurses, Hakeem Abdulwahab, RN. Born and raised in Ethiopia, Hakeem worked his way up to a nursing position at Gillette through years of hard work and determination.

Project SEARCH combines classroom instruction and career exploration through hands-on training for students who have disabilities. This is Gillette’s first year participating in the program, through a partnership with the White Bear Lake Area Schools, and the interns have progressed in leaps and bounds.

Louie Romero is a smiley kid that simply can’t help the fact that he is irrepressibly charming. It's Louie's personality that makes an impression when you meet him. The fact that he is in a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy ranks much lower on the list.

Photos of African-American notables, the smell and taste of good food, and the laughter that comes with sharing stories are all part of a celebration organized by Gillette employees to mark Black History Month.

The hospital can be a scary place for anyone, especially a child, and no matter how nice the staff is or how thoughtfully the clinical spaces are designed, it’s usually difficult for a patient to forget they’re in one. At Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, that’s no longer the case.

As we enter into a new year, neurosciences nurse Alison Smith reflects on gratitude, the strength and resiliency of the patients she cares for, and what her patients have taught her about life.

Becky Hamilton can’t help but get a bit emotional as she prepares to hang up her scrubs after 40 years as a Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare nurse. She’ll freely tell you that when you devote so much of your life to an organization, your colleagues become like family. This goes for your patients as well.

Pain affects all aspects of life, but for many of us, it’s an abstract concept. But, for a moment, imagine what it would feel like to experience chronic pain for an entire month. Start with that, but now expand it out to a year—or maybe even, every day of your life.

Meet HAL. He has a pulse; he breathes, blinks, and speaks numerous languages. If need be, he bleeds. This will likely be one of the stranger things you read today.

Take a recently filmed Facebook LIVE virtual tour of our new valet entrance, check-in desk, guest services, waiting areas and more.

The Nurse of the Year Award recognizes Minnesota nurses in 16 different specialties for exemplary leadership, skills and dedication. Learn about the incredible Gillette nurses who received this year's recognition.

Krista Horning, a Gillette employee for nine years, hopes she's an inspiration to the patients she helps. That's because she's been a patient at Gillette since childhood. Meet Krista and learn why she loves working at Gillette.

Nick Lohmer, a Gillette nursing assistant, always knew he wanted to enter some type of medical field. Health care is a familiar environment for Lohmer, who has spina bifida. Learn why he hopes he's a role model for his patients and what he finds most rewarding about his Gillette career.

We're honored that 17 of our physicians are on Minnesota Monthly Magazine’s 2016 “Best Doctors” list. These Gillette doctors were nominated by their peers throughout Minnesota and recognized for professional expertise.

For 30 years, Steven Koop, MD, has believed that all of medicine is about "Someone who says, 'Help,' and someone in the other chair to say, 'That's my work. To help you.'"

Seven-year-old Maria Renata Sanchez Diaz traveled 1,600 miles from her home in Mexico City to Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare as part of her plan to keep a promise to her dad.

At Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, we understand that choosing a fellowship program is a difficult and important decision. So, we sat down with two of our current Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine fellows to talk about how they made their decision, why they ultimately chose Gillette, and having been here, what they think now?

A young mother, overwhelmed with caring for her newborn son who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, meets a pediatric intensive care nurse in the hallways of Gillette in 2006. The friendship they develop changes both of their lives. To celebrate National Nurses Week, we asked Lucinda VerSteeg and Elee Hruza to reflect on their nursing careers and relationship.

As we continue celebrating Nurses Week 2016, here's a look at how Gillette nurses are finding new ways to help families understand and manage their children's medications, both inside and outside the hospital.

Did you know that the human brain produces electricity? Learn how neurodiagnostic services help diagnose and treat problems that arise when the brain's electrical signals don't function as they should.

When Stacy Soman’s son Hunter started being bullied consistently last year, this question came up more and more. “When your kid starts coming home with bruises, it’s hard not to say: ‘You know what, maybe you should hit back, and they’ll leave you alone.’ Many children would take that advice, but not Hunter."

“When I was a kid in the hospital, the nurses and registration staff remembered my name when I’d do my check-ups, and that always made me feel welcome. It’s incredible to think that now I’m on the other side of the desk recognizing families by name…it’s come full circle.” –Ed Jenkins

Health care never takes a holiday. This means members of our care team often spend Christmas and other holidays caring for patients. Meet Emily Syverson, RN, and learn why she loves working during the holidays.

Rob Wagner, M.D., says he’s never felt comfortable when people thank him for his military service. “I’m embarrassed,” he admits. “I was never shot at, and I never shot at anyone. So my experience is different than many others’.”

I have worked at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare as a registered nurse in the Surgery department for over 25 years. My current role is working as one of the Surgery department charge nurses.