Very few people can claim that they’ve talked to every single Akron Children’s employee. But Bob Daugherty, patient relations specialist at Akron Children’s, can. For most of his career at Children’s, he was a telecommunications operator who answered and screened incoming telephone calls, routed calls to hospital employees, residents, departments and physician offices and monitored […]
Archives for 2021
Kay Kirtley’s retirement checklist includes family, friends and fun
Kay Kirtley, director of Children’s After Hours, has always loved nursing. Kay’s mom was a nurse, and her favorite games involved bandaging her dolls and taking care of her friends and family with her first aid kit. Even while relaxing, Kay read Cherry Ames books, which featured a young nurse who solved mysteries. But unlike […]
New leg braces help 10-year-old with spina bifida maintain an active life
Labor of Love is a blog started by Megs Pollock in 2011. Megs began sharing her experience as a first-time mom to son, Jordan, who was diagnosed with spina bifida before he was born. It’s been 4 years since we last got an update from the Pollock family, so we thought it was time to […]
Grace Wakulchik concludes three-decade career at Akron Children’s
When Grace Wakulchik was a Cuyahoga Falls High School student considering a career in health care, a friend’s mother introduced her to a nurse who had earned her master’s degree. At the time, most nurses were trained in hospital-based schools and not colleges. But Grace took her advice and enrolled at Case Western Reserve University. “She suggested that I get a bachelor’s degree in nursing and then a master’s, and that was a big influence in […]
CNP Marlene Thompson doesn’t shy away from a challenge, especially when it comes to kids
Marlene Thompson is not afraid of a challenge — and, apparently, not of her life-size skeleton and roommate, Mortimer, either. After working as a nurse in Akron Children’s PICU for 13 years, she was ready to push herself to face a new challenge head-on and feel the thrill of change once again. Today, she is […]
Local family is glad Akron Children’s emergency and spine care is so close
Childhood is a time of exploring, climbing, jumping and living carefree. When things don’t go quite right, the Ehrhart family of New Middletown is thankful there’s Akron Children’s ER. “We’ve been to the Akron Children’s ER about once a month for the past 18 months for one thing or another,” said Joni Ehrhart, mom […]