More than just a nurse

Marianne Kurash wears many “hats” at MercyOne New Hampton Medical Center.
She’s a cardiac rehab nurse, the employee health nurse, and an educator — teaching advanced cardiac classes to her fellow employees.
But maybe the most important role Kurash has for her cardiac patients is this: She’s a cheerleader.
“I think when it comes right down to it, that’s what I have to be, I have to be a cheerleader,” she said. “I have to be the one that says ‘you can do this’ or even ‘you should try to do this.’ When we’re talking cardiac rehab, let’s be honest, it’s scary for a lot of people. They’ve just gone through this life-altering event, and getting on a treadmill, going for a walk, whatever it is … they’re all a little scary.”
The rewards for her sometimes can be so simple. It might be a short walk. It might lifting a small box off the floor and putting it on a counter. It may be as simple as an “OK, I’ll try.”
“And we celebrate the little victories,” she said, “because when you go through a cardiac event, trust me, it changes you, it scares you. Sometimes the hardest part is starting the rehab, but as we work through the fears and some semblance of normalcy returns, when you see them smile and realize the progress they’ve made, that’s rewarding.”
— For more on this story and Women in the Workplace, see the Aug. 24 Tribune