Lansing, Mich.-based Sparrow Hospital hired Kimberly Henry, RN, as a housekeeper in 1999. Today, she serves as a clinical nurse leader and assistant department manager at the hospital's intermediate care unit, reports the Lansing State Journal.
Ms. Henry spent a year as a housekeeper at the hospital before transitioning into a patient care technician role, which she held for 10 years. With the help of Sparrow's tuition reimbursement program, she received her associate degree in nursing from Battle Creek, Mich.-based Kellogg Community College in 2009. Her colleagues in Sparrow's labor and delivery unit raised more than $200 for her to take her boards.
Ms. Henry went on to receive her bachelor's degree at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan and a master's degree at Allendale, Mich.-based Grand Valley State University in 2017. Now, she's working toward a doctorate degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit.
"[Kim] is an activator," Toy Bartley, MSN, RN, director of clinical transformation at Sparrow, told the Lansing State Journal. "She started in housekeeping. She went for bachelor's and master's degrees. She'll keep improving herself."
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