Waco hospital patient praises nurse selected as Ascension Providence’s 2022 Nurse of the Year

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Nurses Week is a time to honor the contributions and sacrifices of those who care for our sick, and to take time to say “thank you” to our nurses. During this week, Ascension Providence announces its “Nurse of the Year.”

Holli Gregory has been a nurse with Ascension Providence for four years.

“Some days, it’s an easy day,” Gregory said. “Ranges from passing out medications, doing wound care, but most often it involves education. I always say nurses are really teachers if we are honest with ourselves.”

Gregory makes it sound like just another day, but the people she works with have taken note of her dedication and nominated her to be the Nurse of the Year.

She says she didn’t think much of it at first.

“There was a little scroll and it said that you are a finalist,” Gregory said. “I thought that’s a huge honor and thought that would be the end of it, but when they told me that I was the finalist, the winner, I’m pretty sure I asked about four times if that meant they were done with selecting, like I am the one?”

Gregory has just been named the Ascension Providence 2022 Nurse of the Year.

Her patients say they aren’t surprised.

“I think all of these nurses have a tough job, but Holli she goes that extra mile,” Marsha, one of Gregory’s patients, said.

Marsha has been at Ascension Providence since February. She was not able to breath, eat or move on her own when she first arrived, but under the care of Gregory and the other healthcare professionals, she is finally being released from the hospital.

“I was just really thankful to have her,” Marsha said. “She brought me back from the edge a couple of times.”

Gregory says her recovery is a true miracle. She says nurses are there for people on the worst days of their life and it’s not for praise, but it means a lot to her to be recognized.

“It doesn’t come from patients or families, it comes from my peers,” Gregory said. “We always strive to have patient satisfaction but when your peers are satisfied, to know that your peers would want you taking care of them is special.”

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