Disclaimer: This is sponsored content. All opinions and views are of UCHealth and does not reflect the same of KOAA.
COLORADO SPRINGS – As part of National Nurses Week, in this Your Healthy Family we’re profiling two registered nurses with UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central – a husband and wife team – who both know the hard work it takes to deliver high-level care day in and day out, and support one another at the same time.
“It’s a long road and it can be stressful to be a nurse,” says Jessie Provost, RN.
Jessie says he has always known he wanted a career that involved helping others. He was a medic in the Air Force, and after serving at the Academy, he went to nursing school at Pikes Peak Community College.
It’s the same for his wife, Jessica, who is also a registered nurse. Jessica says, “I knew I always wanted to be a nurse. I started off as a medical assistant and then went to nursing school at Pikes Peak Community College. I’ve been here at Memorial since 1997.”
Jessie works in the neurosciences unit. Stroke care hits close to home for him: “One of my mentors and lifelong heroes was my dad. He suffered a stroke and I think I have that understanding of what somebody goes through who’s suffered a stroke. I tell my patients, ‘you know it’s one day at a time, this could be a long journey.’ We’re doing great things here at UCHealth Memorial, and we have a great neuroscience team of doctors and nurses, and we’re making headway in stroke care. We’re able to do things now for patients that we’ve never been able to do and we’re saving more lives and having better outcomes.”
Jessica is a labor and delivery nurse and explains why she loves her job: “Just the birth of babies and the experience with the patients and the family and helping them have the best experience possible while they’re here at the hospital.”
Jessie and Jessica say they don’t seek appreciation from their patients, but it’s always nice when it’s expressed to them.
Jessica says, “I have had many patients come up and say, ‘thank you so much for what you guys do, the long hours you put in, and the care that you gave us.’ There have been times when we have had really sick patients and the family will say, ‘thanks for saving my wife and baby’.”
Jessie says, “I think nurses are an integral part of the daily care and we are a big part of the team. It takes a lot to be a nurse. The great outcomes are so rewarding. Sometimes you don’t always get to experience that, but when you have a good outcome it speaks volumes and makes you smile, it makes you feel good about yourself makes you feel good about what you’re doing professionally.”
All indications are that the need for new nurses will continue to increase in the coming years. Jessica and Jessie feel the profession has many benefits.
Jessica says, “It’s been very conducive to family life. Jessie and I have always been able to not have childcare because we worked opposite shifts for many many years, taking turns caring for our children, so it’s been great for our family.”
UCHealth is a proud sponsor of Your Healthy Family
