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A Lake Wales nurse has helped those in her hometown at the same hospital for five decades.
LAKES WALES, Fla. - A long-time registered nurse in Lake Wales, has served patients in her hometown for over 50 years at the same hospital, seeing generations and changing technology come through the doors.
"I’ve been a nurse since 1972," said Ivadene Howell, a registered nurse who works in the quality care department at AdventHealth Lake Wales in Polk County. "When I first started, the IVs were in glass bottles, and at that time, we really didn’t have the IV pumps. So, you had to stand there and manually count each drop."
Born in the 1940s, Ivadene is a lady who does not share her exact age.
"So I am past 71 and 72," she said.
But she proudly shared yearbook photos of her in clubs at school, coming of age at a turning point in US history.
"I graduated from Roosevelt High, which was a segregated school, so my first experience actually with white students was when I went to college," said Howell.
Ivadene faced racial prejudices from professors and went on to graduate from Polk Junior College with her associate degree in nursing. She became the first nurse in AdventHealth Lake Wales’ ICU.
"Back in the 70s and also in the 80s, I’ve had patients say, ‘No, I don’t want that nurse taking care of me,’" said Howell.
That did not stop her from caring for them.
"My job was a professional nurse, so you just have to be professional about it. Of course, you know it hurts your feelings, but it’s something that you learn to deal with and how to deal with it," said Howell.
She also dealt with being overlooked, but she waited and endured.
"When it came time for people to realize my potential and my ability to work as a leader, and I got the promotions," she said. "I started as the staff nurse in the ICU, went to what we called back then the charge nurse, then the manager and director of the ICU. Then also became the director of the PCU as well, and then I stepped into the role of education. So, I was the education director."
Howell said she wanted to step back from leadership to be more flexible with her time, so currently, she works in the quality department.
"In the position that I’m in now, it’s one that I really enjoy doing and not being in charge," she said.
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But Ivadene was always in charge of her future. Now with two daughters, her youngest an educator and oldest a doctor who leaves notes when she visits the hospital, Howell said a message for others.
"My motto is for me. I do what I have to do when I have to do it. So, if there are obstacles, find ways around it," she said.
Howell said she originally wanted to be a biology teacher but switched to nursing. She returned to school in the 1980s and graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Florida Southern in 1983. She said she was determined to finish before they had graduated high school.