Safety is everything for this pediatric oncology patient

At the age of 10, Nate Hogberg, the son of Ardent AVP of Patient Safety Stephanie Hogberg, was diagnosed with bone cancer.

For two years, Nate was in and out of the hospital, enduring several visits to the ED, numerous hospital stays and surgeries that no child should have to face.

He was even granted his wish from the Make-a-Wish Foundation to visit the headquarters of Southwest Airlines and learn everything about flying and working for the company.

But while he enjoyed that trip to Dallas, what really helped Nate deal with his illness was the constant and considerate care from his nurses.

“I pretty much got to know all the nurses, including the supervisors,” said Nate. “The staff knew I was a little anxious about shots, so when my nurse walked in, I’d ask, ‘Any needles? Any needles?’”

“She would calmly reply, ‘Brother, no needles. I’ve got this and this, that’s all I’m going to do.’ She talked me through everything and let me hold whatever she brought in, like the chemo bags, before scanning and hanging them up.”

Nate understood how important it was for his nurses to follow Ardent’s Culture of Safety, even if he didn’t think of it in such organizational terms.

“As long as the nurses were nice to me, didn’t hurt me and they helped me heal, then I was very comfortable.”

During Nate’s longest stay in the hospital, he received care from the same nurse.

“I really liked that she was there every day, so I just had to thank her at the end of her shift. I could tell that she really loved that I was saying thank you. She would always say, ‘You’re welcome. It’s just my job and I love doing what I need to do.’”

When Nate left the hospital after that long stay, he walked down a long hall, flanked by nurses on both sides. Together they sang a song to celebrate his last day of undergoing chemotherapy.

It was a simple send-off that Nate will surely remember all his days.