National Nurses Week: Jodie Hignite

Photos courtesy Jodie Hignite.

Jodie Hignite will have a special bond with a baby girl born in September of this year. Jodie is a Disaster Health Services (DHS) volunteer within our region. During the 2022 eastern Kentucky floods, Jodie met a woman who had lost her belongings in the damage. Jodie asked her if she could help replace her glasses, medical supplies, or prescriptions. The woman responded that the only thing she was heartbroken over was the loss of her IVF medications.

“She went on to tell me that her and her partner had been trying for years to have a baby,” said Jodie. “She went to New York to get started on IVF and secure her medications. She spent thousands on them. They got swept away in the floods.” Jodie felt it was her mission to help this request get approved. She called and bargained with pharmacies to get the prices on the medications down.

Eventually, the request got approved for the Red Cross to assist in payment. Jodie recounted the story in a shaky voice. “I received a text 2 months ago. She kept my phone number. She is having a baby girl in September. She said she is going to notify me when the baby is born.

Jodie is so passionate about her career that she went back to school 3 times to get different nursing degrees. She has a Bachelor’s in nursing, a Master’s in family nursing, a degree in Pediatric Acute Care, and in Adult Acute Care. She was a flight nurse for 20 years, which involves providing pre-hospital patient care during emergency air transport. “My favorite job was working at the University of Louisville Trauma Center. I went into every area of critical care emergency medicine that you could work in as a nurse,” said Jodie.

Jodie retired from nursing a few years ago and started volunteering at her local health department. There, she met Cindy Keeney, another of our DHS nurses. She started volunteering with the Red Cross shortly after in December of 2021. “I honestly compare it to when I did pre-hospital and I’d land at a scene, and it was life or death. There’s a lot of similarities for the people I care for now like I did back then. It feels like you’re using the same skills. When they are most vulnerable, I can save their life, provide them comfort and guidance,” said Jodie.

You are a hero in so many ways, Jodie! We love having you on our Kentucky team! #NationalNursesWeek