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From the time she was in elementary school, Vanessa Berger knew she wanted to be a nurse. “Taking care of people was my passion. It’s still my passion,” Berger, 39, said. Where this passion came from is hard for Berger to pinpoint, as no one in her immediate family was in the healthcare profession, but it has driven her ever since.
In November 2007, Berger started working as a Certified Nursing Assistant for Blue Mountain Health Systems, which ran community-based hospitals in Carbon County. When she enrolled at Lehigh Carbon Community College in 2008 in the Practical Nursing certificate program, she went to class during the day and worked the 4 to 11 p.m. shift in the skilled nursing unit for Blue Mountain. On the weekends, Berger also worked as a pediatric and infant care nurse for Bayada Home Health Care, a nonprofit home health care provider for at-home patients.
At LCCC, she took classes at the Schnecksville campus and Tamaqua at the Morgan Center. Berger remembers how the faculty carefully guided her and her fellow students in honing their skills. One example that stands out in Berger’s mind had to do with measuring IV performance. Since machines could fail or break down on occasion, Berger was trained in how to monitor the fluid flow rate manually by counting each drop over a minute to ensure that the medicine was being delivered correctly. Such knowledge was especially critical in the emergency room, Berger said. Nurses often had to count the drips themselves to get a patient started on IV before getting them on an IV pump.
“The professors opened our eyes to so many opportunities. They set up different clinicals, from working in the hospitals to skilled nursing homes to daycare centers. We went to a wound care center where we worked with the hyperbaric chamber, and shadowed X-ray technicians to see what they did,” Berger said.
Interacting with patients in real-life hospital settings was integral to Berger’s training. She modeled herself on her instructors, who taught her to regard each patient as a whole person and not to focus solely on their medical condition. “I always dreamed of wanting to be them. Watching how they presented themselves to the patient was phenomenal because they brought light to a lot of patients’ faces,” Berger said.
After graduating in August 2010 and sitting for her boards, Berger advanced in her career at Blue Mountain as a Licensed Practical Nurse on the 3 to 11p.m. shift. She also worked as a restorative nurse and filled in as a charge nurse. Working as a night shift nurse during the Covid pandemic was a hard time for her and the entire health care system. When the pandemic began to wane, she took a year off from nursing, but the old passion soon reignited.
In January 2024, Berger started working at Country Meadows, an independent living facility for seniors, with nine communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Within six months, she became the assistant director of nursing at the Allentown location. Berger oversees a staff of 21 medical assistants, providing support for nurses during admissions and discharges, or when a resident is transferred to the hospital.
Currently there are about 20 residents at Allentown, ranging in age from 75 to 103. For Berger, the residents have become like family to her, loving them in life and grieving for them when they pass. Despite the challenges, nursing remains Berger’s calling. “I am grateful for every experience I had. That is why I’m in the position I’m in. You can grow and do multiple things as a Licensed Practical Nurse. It’s unlimited."
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