May 8, 2023 – As Floridians recognize the state’s more than 185,000 nursing professionals during National Nurses Week, May 6-12, HCA Florida Healthcare is calling attention to amazing stories of nurses who went above and beyond the call in the name of caring like family.
The state’s largest network of hospitals, HCA Florida Healthcare employs more than 30,000 nursing professionals at more than 650 sites of care.
Pensacola Nurse Helps Young Double Amputee Reach Field of Dreams
Pensacola Nurse Helps Young Double Amputee Reach Field of Dreams
Shelia Gargano, pediatric nurse manager for HCA Florida West Hospital, joins pediatric patient Gunnar Chester and his family at a Pensacola Blue Wahoos game, where she was able to organize a meet-and-greet with Gunnar and the baseball team.
Shelia Gargano, pediatric nurse manager at Pensacola’s HCA Florida West Hospital, played an instrumental role in arranging for Pensacola’s Blue Wahoos minor league baseball team to visit the hospital’s pediatric patients. Players brought game jerseys for the children to help decorate to be worn in an upcoming game.
Gunnar Chester, a double amputee, was a patient in the hospital that day. Gunnar has experienced close to 20 surgeries, the last of which occurred at HCA Florida West Hospital. He was star struck as players offered him words of encouragement and a chance to have fun coloring the jerseys.
After the visit, Gunnar told Shelia he had never been to a real baseball game and could not believe the players came to visit him. As she always does, Shelia stepped up and worked with the Blue Wahoos to get Gunnar and his family tickets to an upcoming game.
Shelia had another surprise in store. Prior to the game, she arranged for the team to meet Gunnar and surprise him with an autographed jersey, baseball bat and other Blue Wahoo souvenirs.
Now inspired with new prosthetic legs, Gunnar joined his family in visiting children at HCA Florida West Hospital this past Christmas to deliver gifts and messages of hope.
Jacksonville Nurse Inspires Son, Sisters to Become Nurses
Jacksonville Nurse Inspires Son, Sisters to Become Nurses
Maria Montemayor, far right, is joined by her family (pictured from left to right) sisters Cristina Cole, Nerissa Batongbacal and Roselle Helmke, son John Galura and her proud parents Fe and Isaac Pineda.
When Maria Montemayor became an RN at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, she never dreamed several of her family
members would follow in her footsteps.
Today, her son John Galura works as an RN in the same hospital. Maria also inspired her three sisters to become nurses: Roselle Helmke is a Critical Care Unit charge nurse in Birmingham, Alabama; Cristina Cole is a cardiovascular RN also in Birmingham; and Nerissa Batongbacal is a Licensed Practical Nurse at HCA Healthcare Tomball Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Palm Beach County Nurse Makes a Big Impact on Patient and Their Family
Palm Beach County Nurse Makes a Big Impact on Patient and Their Family
Stephanie Perry, left, has since mentored Heather Taylor, a future RN, at HCA Florida JFK Hospital after going above and beyond to care for Heather’s husband, Andy.
Nurses like Stephanie Taylor of HCA Florida JFK Hospital understand
the profession requires sacrifices in the name of care. That was
certainly the case when Stephanie called her husband to cancel their long-anticipated dinner plans in order to care for a patient, 42-year-old Andy Taylor, who was placed on respiratory support in the hospital’s cardiovascular intensive care unit following a sudden heart attack.
“My patient is unstable,” Andy Taylor’s wife Heather overhead Stephanie telling her husband. “I want to stay late and help out.”
Mr. Taylor remained hospitalized for 23 days and Stephanie was by his side for most of it. After he was discharged, Stephanie unexpectedly received a note with a gift card in the mail. It read, “Thank you for giving up your date night to ensure I would have future ones. You will forever be in my thoughts and prayers and have a special place in my heart. Please plan another date on us.”
But the story doesn’t end there. Heather, so inspired by the care Stephanie provided to her husband, decided at 41 years old to pursue a career in nursing.
Throughout her journey, Stephanie has been Heather’s mentor. Ironically, Heather performed her preceptorship at HCA Florida JFK Hospital alongside Stephanie in the same cardiovascular intensive care unit where her husband was treated.
Heather says, “I want to be another family’s Stephanie Perry.”
Tampa Nurse In the Right Place at the Right Time
Tampa Nurse In the Right Place at the Right Time
Michelle Nutting, right, pictured with her twin sister, cared for a stranger like family when he collapsed during the SKYWAY 10K in St. Petersburg.
Nurses never know when they’ll be called upon to spring into action. For Michelle Nutting, RN of HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital, that moment happened while she and her twin sister were participating in the annual SKYWAY 10K in St. Petersburg this past March.
“During the race, another runner collapsed and passed out in front of my sister and I,” Michelle recalls. “We immediately rushed over to help him by checking his pulse and respirations. He was breathing on his own and said he had no chest pain or shortness of breath. I took the next step to cool him down and place cold water on key areas until EMS was contacted.”
Michelle was able to contact the man’s sister who was also participating in the race, and ran to the finish line to find her. In spite of the large crowd present at the finish line, Michelle located his sister and was able to reunite her with her brother.
About HCA Florida Healthcare
HCA Florida Healthcare, a part of HCA Healthcare, is a family of more than 650 affiliated sites of care, including hospitals, physician practices and freestanding emergency rooms. United as a statewide network in 2022, HCA Florida Healthcare includes approximately 11,000 experienced doctors and more than 79,000 colleagues working together to deliver advanced, collaborative care to more than 8.6 million patients each year. HCA Florida Healthcare is committed to improving more lives in more ways and giving back to the communities it serves. The network provided $848.8 million in uncompensated care and invested significantly in innovative technologies and facilities across Florida, including the new $360 million state-of-the-art, multi-specialty HCA Florida University Hospital in Davie, Fla. A strong advocate for the next generation of healthcare professionals, HCA Florida Healthcare is also a major supporter of university-based healthcare programs and residencies and fellowships throughout the Sunshine State. For more information, please visit HCAFloridaHealthcare.com.
