'It's a wonderful job': Sherman's Nurse of the Year cherishes work in labor and delivery department
It's not been an easy couple of years to be a nurse.
The global pandemic has pummeled health care workers since March of 2020. Equipment and staffing shortages have made life exponentially more difficult for hospital workers, who put themselves at risk every day just by showing up for work.
Still, Holly Mendrella of Elgin can't help but smile as she describes working in the labor and delivery department at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
“I have two patients, and one of them is inside the other,” she said. “How cool is that?”
Mendralla, a patient care leader specializing in labor and delivery, was recently named Sherman's 2021 Nurse of the Year.
“I was shocked,” she said. “We have such great nurses at Sherman, and so to be recognized like that feels really amazing.”
She found out late last year when she was told to go into the break room during a shift. When she came out, she was met by a crowd of hospital leaders and co-workers decked out in glow necklaces and glasses while “You Light Up My Life” played.
“They put a bedazzled nurse's cap on me, and I got a sparkly sash that said nurse of the year,” she said. “It was honestly embarrassing but wonderful.”
Mendralla has been a nurse since 2005 and has worked at Sherman since 2009.
“The last couple of years have definitely been challenging, as far as equipment, resources and personnel go,” she said. “But I have to say Sherman has done a great job of supporting us nurses and supporting its staff and really trying to make sure we are taken care of physically and emotionally. I really feel like within the organization we have felt very supported.”
Mendralla was chosen from among 695 nurses at Sherman. Nominations were submitted by clinicians and team members and reviewed by peer committees for blinded judging according to each nominee's passion for patient care, commitment to service, solution-oriented abilities and evidence-based practice.
“Holly truly exemplifies what it means to be a nursing scientist,” Advocate Sherman's Chief Nursing Officer Susan Morby said in a statement. “Scholarly, passionate and down to earth, she is a clinical expert in labor and delivery nursing. Her enthusiasm for research is inspiring and makes her a natural leader for the hospital's Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Shared Governance Council. Her work improves the experience for patients, nurses and doctors alike, and I am proud to work with her.”
As much as Mendralla appreciated the award, she says it can't beat the feeling of helping bring new life into the world.
“This is an amazing time for a family, and it's a day they will never ever forget, so being invited into that and sharing that experience with someone is so fulfilling and rewarding,” she said.
“It's a wonderful job.”