Blessing Rehabilitation Nurse Retires

Lewis County resident Melinda Heindselman, BSN, RN, Rehabilitation Services, Blessing Hospital, retires August 15 after 34 years of service.

She began her career as a certified nurse assistant (CNA) in 1980, joining Blessing Hospital and its Skilled Nursing Unit (SNU) staff in 1990.

“On SNU I worked with a lot of great RNs who I felt were role models. After a year, I decided to go to nursing school and I asked them whether to go for my associate’s or bachelor’s degree. They all said go for the bachelor’s degree, and I have not regretted it one bit,” Heindselman said.

After five years as a CNA on SNU, she graduated from the Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and spent two more years on the unit. From there she went to Blessing Home Care for 15 years.

“Home care was my calling. I enjoyed seeing the patients getting better while they were in their own home.  You develop a special relationship with your patients and made friends along the way because some patients you saw for a lengthy time. I worked under some great leaders and along with several great nurses. I really enjoyed taking student nurses on home visits,” she continued.

Heindselman joined the Rehabilitation unit in 2012 and worked there for 12 years until her retirement. Some of the nurses she worked with on the unit she knew since high school.

“We made the wise choice of the nursing profession,” she concluded. “It was a great feeling to see our patients get better and go home.”

Heindselman has been married to husband, Greg, for 41 years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, one grandson and two foster grandsons. In retirement, Heindselman is planning to spend more time with family and be the supervisor at Heindselman Family Farms.