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Peg Helget, right, vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at Jennie Edmundson Methodist Hospital, poses for a portrait with Jenene VandenBurg, who will be taking over her role when Helget retires on Sept. 16.

Peg Helget will soon be leaving Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital.

She’s not a patient, though — she’s vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer. She plans to retire on Sept. 16 after about 14 years at the hospital.

Helget came to Jennie in 2008 as vice president of patient services and has helped integrate the hospital into Nebraska Methodist Health System practices.

“We were already Methodist, but we were really independent,” she said. “A lot of our procedures and practices, nurses have worked really closely” with Methodist Hospital and Methodist Fremont Health to standardize.

“We’ve also worked with (Nebraska) Methodist College on continuing education,” Helget said. “One of my big focuses was growth in our nurses when I came. I felt like those things were very important to bring on nurses and keep them here.”

Nurses in the health system can attend further training at Nebraska Methodist College without paying tuition fees, if they agree to continue working for the system for a specified period of time, she said. A nurse with an associate degree can earn a bachelor’s, and a nurse with a bachelor’s can earn a master’s, she said.

Helget helped onboard physicians and other employees and monitored their progress as they learned to use electronic medical records.

“As I cleaned out my office, I couldn’t believe all the paper I had,” she said. “Now, the computer has taken over. We don’t have so much paper.”

Jennie has also expanded and improved its facilities since Helget came. That includes the construction of the medical office building and remodeling of the first floor and birthing area of the hospital, she said. New equipment has included the DaVinci robotic surgeon and the Ion pulmonology robot. The hospital is currently remodeling its behavioral health area, and plans to redo the catheterization lab are in the works, she said.

Prior to coming to Jennie, Helget worked at Methodist Fremont Health in Fremont, Nebraska for almost 30 years. She started in intensive care and telemetry and managed those areas for about 15 years. She still lives in Fremont and will go back to that facility part time after she retires from Jennie.

She has three adult children and six grandchildren and plans to spend more time going to her grandchildren’s activities, golfing and vacationing in Arizona.

Helget will be passing the torch to Jenene VandenBurg, who has had multiple leadership roles. The two have worked together for about 12 years, and Helget has been a mentor to VandenBurg for much of that time.

“I am obviously very excited and, naturally, nervous,” VandenBurg said.

The last two years have been challenging, and the staff has been stressed, she said.

“We need to continue our positive growth and learn from that,” VandenBurg said. “I love what I do, and I am fully ready to take on this challenge.”

VandenBurg was previously director of quality and performance improvement and now oversees medical-surgical, telemetry, intensive care, the birthing center, the emergency department, respiratory care, outpatient surgery and inpatient psychiatric care at Jennie. She has also served as administrative director of nursing services at Jennie and patient safety leader at Methodist Hospital and Methodist Women’s Hospital.

“Jenene has demonstrated her commitment to Methodist and places a high level of importance on quality care, provider collaboration, employee engagement and organizational culture,” said David Burd, president and CEO at Methodist Jennie Edmundson, in a press release. “She is driven to continue moving Jennie Edmundson forward and is passionate about providing the best possible care to those we serve.”

VandenBurg, a Nebraska Methodist College alumna, came to Jennie in 2010 as a nursing practice coordinator. She has more than five years of clinical experience and a nursing license in Nebraska and Iowa. She is trained in emergency management and holds a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma, which represents proficiency in planning, controlling and improving performance. She values the opportunity to create and support work environments that embrace diversity, and she looks forward to strengthening Jennie’s positive culture.

“It’s one of inclusiveness,” she said. “When you come to work, you feel a genuine sense of compassion with every interaction. Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital aims to be a positive force in the community and with its employees, and I aim to continue championing those efforts wholeheartedly.”

VandenBurg worked in business and finance before studying nursing at NMC, which may have laid the groundwork for her work in management. When she first entered nursing, she started in the float pool.

“I got to experience every department of the hospital,” she said. “I have worked as a nurse at the bedside in every unit, except actually delivering babies. I think that’s given me a great understanding of how all the departments fit together.”

Along the way, Helget has alerted her of opportunities to move up and supported her in her efforts to do so.

VandenBurg has seen the hospital grow during her 12 years at Jennie.

“When I started here, I remember what a low census we had sometimes,” she said. “We have grown over the last 12 to 14 years, and I can’t wait to see us grow in the community.”

VandenBurg has seen the influence Helget has had on the hospital.

“The nurses are here 24/7. Peggy has really improved our practices — and she makes sure we’re using best practices,” she said. “She kept challenging me, which I love.”

One of the biggest challenges is taking care of the staff, Helget said. There’s a staffing shortage “across the board,” she said, and Jennie has been working hard on allowing employees to have a work-life balance.

“I’ve really challenged myself and our leadership team (on) ‘how do we look at things differently? How can we help our people find that work-life balance?’,” VandenBurg said.

She and her husband, Trace, have three sons. She hopes to move her family from Omaha to Council Bluffs by the end of the year.

Helget said she feels very positive about Jenene taking over.

“I feel like she’s inheriting a really good team,” she said. “It’s a great hospital with a great culture.”

As for her career, Helget has no regrets.

“I’ve loved every minute of what I’ve done,” she said.

“I don’t think I can express how much Peggy has helped me with my career,” VandenBurg said. “She’s been a great mentor.”

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Peg Helget, right, vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at Jennie Edmundson Methodist Hospital, poses for a portrait with Jenene VandenBurg, who will be taking over her role when Helget retires on Sept. 16.

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