Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is proud to announce that Emily Bodholdt has been selected as a 2018 Hospital Hero by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA).
Every year the IHA awards those committed health care professionals that go above and beyond. Hospitals are asked to submit applications and provide examples of how the individual could be considered a hero. Only ten people were awarded the status this year and they will be honored at the IHA Annual Meeting in October.
Emily Bodholdt works as a nurse in First Embrace Obstetrics. She loves helping parents through the birthing process and making sure that they feel ready to take their child home to start a lifetime of memories.
In 2010 the Storm Lake area daycare center closed, and even though Emily did not use the facility, she worried about all the children and parents that were now in need of proper care. These were her families and she had one time promised to help.
She started to attend community day care meetings and connect with other concerned community members. This led to looking into the long list of requirements that daycare must follow and deciding to take a leap of faith with her new connections and information to set up a new community daycare.
With eyes and ears open, Emily and friends began looking for any potential space and funding that would promote opening a community daycare. Emily’s free time was spent learning city and state codes while organizing multiple fundraisers. In 2016, Ready Set Grow! Learning Center opened to serve 40 children. This center continues to grow and help families. Future plans are being made to open a second location at Methodist Manor in Storm Lake.
Emily is our hero because she truly is there to support parents the day they meet their baby and beyond.
For Emily, her love of kids doesn’t end at work. With her husband Pete, they raise four children while balancing their busy careers.