Simply a Statement of Fact

When kids walk through the door at Wedgwood, they are soon introduced to one of the nurses here on campus. During our first encounter, the children are often sad, angry, or even fearful. They come from a variety of backgrounds, including juvenile detention, failed foster home placements, or shelters; many have been neglected or abused. While being shuffled from place to place, many of these young people have not had quality medical or dental care. Our job as nurses is to assess their medical needs and create a plan to best meet those needs. Wedgwood is blessed to have loving physicians who come to us and meet with these children. Our team deals with their hurts, their physical and emotional pain, along with their toothaches, runny noses, and coughs.

Collectively, we have over 140 years of nursing experience in hospitals, doctor’s offices and as in-home healthcare providers, and every one of those years prepared us to provide medical treatment for these kids. But the grace and love of God have prepared us to care for these children. Our job at Wedgwood is to reflect years of God’s grace, faithfulness, and compassion on to the children in our care.

Recently, one of our nurses was doing a routine check on one of our kids, a simple weight, height, and blood pressure check. As she was going about her task, they were chatting together, and the child was carefully studying her face. He finally said to her, “You really do love the kids here.” It wasn’t a question; it was simply a statement of fact. As nurses, we can meet the child’s medical needs, but we are also blessed to be in a position to reflect God’s love on them, lighting their path for a healthier future.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of The IMPACT.