JNESO

“Nursing is not just a job or a profession, it is a way of life,” explained Milissa Eggert, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who has worked for 30 years at Cedar Grove Respiratory & Nursing Center in Monroe, N.J.  “Nurses are blessed to be able to help people and make a difference,” said Eggert, a resident of Sicklerville, N.J.

Interestingly, her journey to nursing became a reality while working as a forklift operator for Johnson & Johnson which gave her the financial support she needed to go to nursing school. She worked fulltime while balancing her education, and she completed the Gloucester County Vo Tech evening nursing program to become an LPN.

Eggert is a primary nurse, which she describes as being “hands-on with my patients.” She works in the ventilator unit doing both acute and rehabilitative work. She enjoys working on a team to help patients reach the goal of getting off the ventilators. “It takes a village to take care of the residents,” she said. “We are a team and nurses look out for one another.”

This teamwork helped save the life of a patient that had only been at the center for 24 hours. Eggert and her coworker Ruth Miller learned that a patient who desperately needed a lung transplant was notified that a lung was available, but he had to get Temple University Hospital that day. “He couldn’t get a ride and had to leave immediately because the hospital wouldn’t hold the lung. We just looked at each other and said ‘I guess we are going to Temple!’”

Together, they transported the patient in Miller’s truck and kept him safe and calm. They made it on time and the transplant was a success. “He was such a nice guy; he was actually entertaining us on the ride. It was such a blessing for us to be able to care for him. This is what nursing is all about.” 

Her dedication to the patients and the residents of Cedar Grove is well known. “They call me ‘Mommy Miliss’ because the needs of my residents and their care always comes first,” she noted. “Anyone can push a medication cart and take care of basic functions, but not everyone can make them smile or give them a bit of extra attention to make them feel special.”

In part, Eggert credits JNESO for her ability to continue to make a difference. “As members, we are there for each other, like a family. JNESO supported us during COVID making sure got the PPE we needed and protected us when the facility went through several ownership changes. I truly feel that without them I wouldn’t have a job today.”

 And this is a job she loves. “The inner sense of caring and wanting to nurture is just something inside you, you can’t turn it off.  Some people say we are heroes, I say ‘No. We are nurses!’”