National Nurses Week 2025 was last week, and we want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible team of nurses who work hard to ensure the people at Living Well have access to the best health care possible.
According to American Nurses Enterprise, National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. This week of recognition was established to honor the invaluable contributions of nurses worldwide and the real-life challenges they face every day. Whether you’re a nurse, a healthcare professional, a patient, or simply someone who appreciates the critical role nurses play in our lives and society, National Nurses Week is the perfect time to share your gratitude and celebrate nurses.
Living Well Director of Nursing, Nicole Touroutoutoudis, has been with Living Well for almost 16 years, and found us incidentally after graduating with her BSN in 2009. At that time there was a hiring freeze in all hospitals, so she looked for a nontraditional route into a health care field. Once hired she learned a lot on the job, as during nursing school, she had no idea this was a specialty. It is hard to believe, but there was no education on I/DD (intellectual or developmental disability) or education on this field of nursing.
Nicole, like many of our nurses, started as a DSP. She began her career at Poppler working overnights and within nine months the Director of Nursing at the time hired her in a Nursing position. Over time she branched out into hospice and hospital settings while maintaining hours with Living Well but soon realized that this was the field for her.
Colleen and Connor at Brookview.
Nicole says, “The pieces of this job that are my favorite are using critical thinking and nursing skills as a site nurse, which is way more often than I ever did at the hospital, getting to know the people served, and understanding what they need as a person not just what medical care they may need.” Nicole adds, “In this role you have the opportunity to impact a person’s health and life in a way that the hospital setting could never allow. A nurse in this field gets to know the whole person; not just their acute illness or diagnosis that needs treatment. Understanding how the person communicates, what they are capable of, and what they need to participate in medical care can make a difference in their outcome and long-term health.”
Chinatu Ejodamen started her career as a DSP as well, and joined the nursing team last year. She says, “ Being a Nurse, I will say has always been my desire. While growing up, I lived with my Grandma. I always accompanied her to her doctor’s appointment and will always explain to her how to take her medication and ensure that she takes them. My Mom also said that as a child, I would always say I would be a Nurse. I love caring for people.”
Megan with Wayne and Patti at Kennelly.
Megan Burgeson started her career in news media in Florida, and found her way to direct care when she moved to Minnesota. She says, “People served are the reason we stay. Doing right by them, and assuring they are cared for with dignity and respect is the ultimate responsibility and it is not taken lightly.”
Jessica Liepke will celebrate 12 years with the Living Well nursing team in June. She says, “Our nurses develop close relationships with individuals over time and have gained very valuable insights on how to best support the people they work with to ensure their medical needs are met. The most subtle of observations our nurses make often save lives. This is a special type of advocacy that our department provides and is essential for the health and wellness of the people we serve and support!”
Andrew Gregerson, has been with Living Well almost 20 years. He was friends with a previous RD’s wife when he was in college and one day they asked him if he needed a job. “So, I said yes, having no idea what I was getting myself into. I have always been interested in healthcare and medicine. Nursing was the fastest route that didn’t require medical school,” he says. Adding with a wink, “Plus nurses know more than most doctors anyway.”
Having the strong and knowledgeable nursing team we have at Living Well has allowed multiple people served to return to their home and receive care there, instead of in a TCU (Transitional Care Unit) or Nursing home (SNF). This is important because some people with I/DD do not communicate or express their needs in a typical manner and frequently the care in TCU’s or SNF’s is not able to be the same as in their home.
Nicole’s daughter Jenna with Becky from Kennelly.
We are beyond grateful for the nurses who do the hard work daily. Nicole says, “We are very fortunate at Living Well to have a team of 11 dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable nurses.”
Everyone has had an interaction with a nurse, be it at a doctor’s appointment, at the school nurses office with a fever, or an emergency situation that brought fear and confusion. We think everyone can agree they are the backbone of the medical profession, and without them so much would not be accomplished. A HUGE THANK YOU to Alexa, Andrew, Celia, Chinatu, Colleen, Elizabeth, Erin, Jessica, John, Megan and Nicole, and the nurses from Health Counseling Services, as well! We appreciate the amazing work you do at Living Well.
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