海角社区

I Just Wanted to Be A Nurse

By Tiffany King

Long before Angela Ammons, RN, BSN, became the CEO of Clinch Memorial Hospital in Homerville, Georgia, she was a non-traditional student pursuing an Associate of Science in Nursing degree at the 海角社区. She graduated with her associate鈥檚 in 2007, and 10 years later, in 2017, she was named CEO at Clinch Memorial and led a successful turnaround effort at the hospital, which was on the verge of closing. Ammons has a long history of overcoming the odds. From a tumultuous childhood, dropping out of high school at age 15, earning her GED, having two children, getting divorced, and enrolling in college with a full-time job, she understands the value of hard work and perseverance.

After earning her associate鈥檚 degree from Coastal, Ammons obtained both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master in Nursing Leadership degrees from Western Governors University.

Ammons always knew that nursing was the career for her.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been geared to serving other people and have had an emphatic spirit of nature, and I know that patients are often at their most vulnerable point,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was drawn to nursing because I couldn鈥檛 think of any better way that I could serve.鈥�

When Ammons came to the College she was a mother of two, recently divorced, and working at Summit Sports Medicine. She thought it was a good time to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. Balancing college and a full-time job can be difficult for any student. She鈥檚 grateful to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Melvin Deese of Summit Sports Medicine and manager Gloria Wood for allowing her to work around her class schedule.

鈥淭hey had to have someone cover the front desk until I got there,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are a pivotal part in me getting a degree at the College.鈥�

She then worked for plastic surgeon Dr. Bill Mitchell at Renue Plastic Surgery. Although she worked less than 40 hours a week because of school, Mitchell made sure that Ammons and her children were able to stay insured. She was allowed to work after hours and on the weekends so she could support her family.

Being a full-time student wasn鈥檛 always easy, but she remembers moments of kindness and support that encouraged her to keep moving forward. Ammons shared that during her first semester in college, she couldn鈥檛 afford all of her textbooks for the first few weeks. In her algebra class, one of her classmates, Rhonda Diggs, noticed that she didn鈥檛 have her textbook. She slid her desk next to Ammons鈥� in order to share her book and made copies of the book pages for Ammons until she could buy her own.

鈥淚f she didn鈥檛 do that, I would have fallen so far behind鈥攖hose little acts of kindness matter. There were adults in that class that made jokes about it, but she stepped in to help me. She鈥檚 part of building who I am today,鈥� Ammons said.

Some of her favorite nursing instructors who impacted her life included, Scott Wenzka, who was the psych nursing instructor; Kathy Upham, whom Ammons describes as being very direct; and Desi Carter. Ammons called Carter after taking the test for her nursing license and thought that she failed. Carter took the time to calm her down and reassure her that everything was fine.

鈥淲e still message every now and then, and I will always appreciate her kindness,鈥� Ammons said.

Her favorite memory from nursing school was seeing the camaraderie among students in the program. Three months into the program, her cohort shrunk by 50 percent, Ammons said, and she remembers seeing one student passed out asleep and being awakened by friends in between lectures. Ammons and her classmates would gather at a local bookstore and be there all day on Saturdays and Sundays, drinking coffee, studying, and sharing lecture notes.

鈥淚 loved graduation night and looking around at all the people who made it, because it鈥檚 hard work. Once you obtain that, no one can take it away from you. It was such a sense of accomplishment,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here were a couple of times where I didn鈥檛 know if I was going to make it because of work and personal issues. When I found out that I had passed it was absolutely amazing.鈥�

College taught Ammons the importance of consistency and that waiting until the last minute won鈥檛 cut it.

鈥淧eople expect for you to give 110 percent, and you鈥檙e not doing that when you do it last minute,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ollege taught me how to prepare, prepare, prepare.鈥�

Always Be Willing to Learn

Ammons鈥� advice to her younger self is not to put off getting an education. She remembers being fascinated with the curriculum in her college history classes and learning things she never heard before because she dropped out of high school. As a child, she was a voracious reader and would escape to her local library in Macon and leave with a stack of books. She enjoyed being the heroine of the stories she read and absorbing new information鈥攚hich she still does. Ammons just completed a certificate program at Emory University鈥檚 Goizueta Business School.

鈥淭hey offered a health care executive program, and I was just so proud to be there with this elite group of people who were finishing up their MBA. I鈥檓 considering applying for the MBA program at Emory. The network connections that I鈥檝e made from being in that program are amazing鈥攕cientists, physicians, and other business owners. Always continue to learn,鈥� she said.

When Ammons meets current nursing students, she encourages them to stay the course and trust what their nursing instructors are teaching. She鈥檚 transparent in letting them know that nurses will never be paid enough or thanked enough for all their hard work, but it鈥檚 worth it. Nursing is continually listed as one of the most respected jobs in the world, Ammons said, therefore it鈥檚 important to work hard and remain steady. Earning her associate鈥檚 degree prepared her to be task oriented, and earning her bachelor鈥檚 helped answer the questions of why things are done a certain way. Ammons foresees that hospitals will one day require nurses to have their bachelor鈥檚.

Still Passionate About Nursing

Prior to joining Clinch Memorial, Ammons served as nurse director of the Behavioral Health Unit and nurse manager for the Medical Surgical Unit at Memorial Satilla in Waycross, Georgia. She was also a critical care nurse at Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick. Ammons still gets an adrenaline rush when she hears a code blue.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine taking any other career path than I did and being passionate about the work that I was doing. Showing up first, making sure your work is done at the very end鈥攖hese are things that nursing schools really teach you,鈥� Ammons said. 鈥淭o all my nursing students, work like you鈥檙e on a job interview every day. You may think an associate鈥檚 degree is the last stop, but you don鈥檛 know when you鈥檙e going to be the next CEO of a hospital. You鈥檒l never get that opportunity if you don鈥檛 give it 100 percent every single day.鈥�

Every now and then Ammons will arrive at Clinch in her scrubs to help out or because she鈥檒l have a busy day around the hospital. Her background in nursing gives her a great advantage in understanding the different functions of a hospital, what the terms 鈥渂usy鈥� and 鈥渦nderstaffed鈥� mean for nurses, and how to interact with physicians.

鈥淚 never knew getting an associate鈥檚 degree was going to help me build the foundation to become a CEO,鈥� Ammons said. 鈥淏ack then, when I graduated, I just wanted to be a nurse.鈥�

Ammons will always be an advocate for nurses because of the huge impact they have in people鈥檚 lives, despite their own personal struggles.

Ammons is married and is the proud mother of five children. Her eldest son has a career in IT; her second son is in pharmacy school at the University of Georgia and is considering pursuing a medical degree to become a pediatrician; one son serves in the U.S. Air Force; another is set to join the Air Force as well; and her daughter is considering becoming a teacher.

In addition to her being a wife, mother, and CEO, Ammons is the founder of a nonprofit organization that will build and sustain a free medical clinic in San Antonio, Intibuc谩 located in Honduras. She is passionate about mission work and finding missions in everyday life.