Nursing staff thanks LPN, a caregiver at home and work

Posted: 08/11/2022

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Well-known in Waukon, Iowa, nurse Kayla Rowan, LPN, is rolling through her shift full of familiar faces at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home.

“She’s a local. Everybody knows her family, knows her,” says Lori Johnson, Society director of nursing at the long-term care center. “Residents, families tell me that they never worry about their loved ones when Kayla is working.”

Feeling a pull to health care four years ago, the 32-year-old left a career in business, started as a Society CNA and recently earned her way to LPN.

“Most of (the residents) don’t have options to be able to be at home anymore. So, this is their home. I like that I get to be a part of their life,” Kayla, who grew up on a nearby dairy farm, says.

She is no stranger to hard work. Her parents ran the farm and had full-time jobs on the side. Kayla’s boss Lori says the caregiver’s efforts are second to none.

“She is the best of the best,” Lori says. “She’s been in the kitchen before. She’s been in housekeeping. If you asked her to go out and mow the lawn she’d go out and mow the lawn.

“She really cares genuinely about everybody and their welfare no matter what hers is in the background.”

‘Everything changed’ following tragic news

Climbing the nursing ladder, Kayla began pursuing her RN in 2021. Unfortunately, tragic news put the pursuit on pause.