2021 REHPS Brendan Langbehn

Huron is a town I have traveled to on occasion when visiting extended family for holidays, birthdays, and spending time at the state fair. Over the past month, I have been blessed to see and experience a completely different side of Huron, South Dakota. I witnessed a personal and interconnected healthcare team that thrived in how they aspired to lead their community. This team believed and worked toward achieving high standards through engaging in public health and helping individuals in their own journeys of health and wellness. While at the Huron regional hospital, I was welcomed by multiple departments throughout my stay. The people around me were courteous and always founds ways to help me grow in my nursing education.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the different departments engaged with me and answered any questions I had along the way. With this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and level of care this rural health care facility provided to its community. The experience in Huron gave me a new outlook on the opportunities that rural health can provide, and how meaningful the work and relationships could be.

As a part of my experience at HRMC, I was able to travel back and forth from the ER, OB, PT, community health, respiratory therapy, cardiac therapy, and multiple other clinics. The ability to move and constantly see different perspectives helped me see a bigger picture when it came to nursing. I especially valued my time in wound care, I never imagined I would find something that I could strongly picture myself doing when I first start working as a nurse.

When thinking about an individual who stood out among many, Dr. Fox comes to mind. She was excellent at what she did, and she went above and beyond with demonstrating outstanding care and customer service to the patients she saw. She was genuine and a great leader at the hospital.

All in all, I cannot show enough gratitude for all that this experience has taught me. It has opened my eyes to new perspectives and unique ways to care for individuals, as well as how to creatively provide the best care to each and every person that walks through the doors. I have met people who have challenged and encouraged me. Most importantly, my goals to be an open-minded and community-driven nurse have been reaffirmed, and I see that in a rural setting I will not just grow as a nurse, but thrive. Thank you for this opportunity.