Nicole Coequyt is the 2024 Nurse of the Year—And here’s why!
By Lisa Foss Olson | January 17, 2025 | All members
The
Nurse of the Year award honors an individual who displays extraordinary skills in caring for individuals residing in a senior care facility. Nicole “Nicky” Coequyt, Director of Health Services at Heritage Pointe Senior Living, was selected as the 2024 recipient of this award.
Below are some comments from her nomination; however, to get a true sense of why Nicole is so special, please take a moment to view the video staff and residents made about her.
Watch it here.
Sara Dolan, Executive Director, had this to say about Nicole in the nomination:
Nicky is able to see the full picture of what her role as Director of Health Services entails. She looks at the operational side of nursing and… keeps a close eye on clinical outcomes and that all procedures are being followed. She is always looking for ways we can improve our processes. The main thing though is she makes sure their (residents) care needs are being met. She always makes the time for residents, families, and staff when they have something they want to discuss. She makes sure to address everyone by their name in conversation. Nicky works with her current staff to continue to improve their skill set and encourages them to take on more responsibilities as their positions allow. This encouragement really gives staff a sense of purpose and belonging and has made a huge impact on reducing our turnover among staff.
Seven other staff at Heritage Pointe had this to say about Nicky:
We are writing to enthusiastically nominate Nicky Coequyt for the Nurse of the Year Award. Nicky is an incredibly dedicated and caring individual at Heritage Pointe Senior Living in Marshall, MN. We have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand Nicky's exceptional dedication, compassion, and expertise in nursing care. Her commitment to both residents and colleagues makes a significant difference in the lives of those around her.
Nicky's range of skills and qualities truly shines through in her care for the residents. Her ability to go above and beyond, demonstrating empathy, sympathy and compassion, sets a remarkable standard for nursing care. She brings a genuine sense of dedication and love to her role.
Finally, a daughter whose parents resided at Heritage Pointe, had this to say about Nicole:
When our parents entered AL we didn’t expect the level of care and compassion that Nicky and her staff have provided. I know that it’s through her leadership and the respect she shows her staff that our parents have gotten the wonderful care they’ve have. She has been an invaluable support to our family as caregivers for our parents in the last stage of their lives. This has been a very difficult couple of years for us all and I’m so grateful that we had Nicky leading the care team. She praises her staff and they clearly appreciate her. It is a very loving community of people and we feel Nicky deserves much of the credit for that. Her relationships with everyone there are authentic and respectful. I think she is very deserving of this honor because I doubt there are very many facilities anywhere that would get the level of expertise and commitment that she gives to her job. She clearly does it with love for the residents and staff and it’s always done with a joyful spirit!”
Nicole Coequyt was presented with the 2024 Nurse of the Year Award at our annual convention this past November.
And if there is a leader at your organization that deserves recognition—please nominate them for a Care Providers of Minnesota 2025 Nurse of the Year Award. Look for information on all our award categories in March.
Lisa Foss Olson | Director of Public Relations & Communications |
lolson@careproviders.org | 952-851-2483