Nurse of the year perseveres in face of adversity
Alex Garner
Sheboygan Press
USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN
SHEBOYGAN – Several people told Kelsey Frericks and her mom, Kristin Murphy, she would never be a nurse.
After having to be resuscitated and stabilized following her mom’s emergency cesarean section in November 1992, Frericks was rushed to a neonatal intensive care unit in Milwaukee, where she spent more than three weeks.
Murphy was told twice that her daughter would likely not survive.
However, after receiving treatment on her respiratory system in Milwaukee, and then care from the Sheboygan Me- morial Medical Center for a week, Frericks was sent home, healthy.
A lasting side effect for her was a loss of hearing. But that hasn’t deterred her. Frericks was recently named the 2021 Nurse of the Year for the Hospital Sisters Health System hospitals in Eastern Wisconsin. Ten nurses were nominated across the four hospitals: HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and HSHS St. Ma- ry’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay, and HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls.
GARY C. KLEIN/USA TODAY NETWORK-WISCONSIN
She is an emergency department nurse and the Critical Care Trauma Program coordinator at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, where she’s worked since 2018.
Frericks is an “astute emergency” nurse, said Cassandra Loose, emergency department manager at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, who worked with Frericks for five years at HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, first as a bedside colleague and then as her emergency department manager.
She said Frericks is an advocate for her patients, making sure to give the right care as quickly as possible, and she also motivates those around her to lead healthy lifestyles.
“Everybody that she comes into contact with, whether that be her patients or colleagues — and not just nursing col- leagues but X-ray and house supervision and our inpatient staff and our registration staff — she really, truly cares about everyone and makes sure that everyone feels heard and knows their value,” Loose said.
Murphy said Frericks’ dad, Dan, and she was thrilled when they found out Frericks won the award.