Who is Jean Ann?
Jean Ann Hayen
September 18th, 1958 - September 28th, 2006
Jean was a wife, mother and friend and she worked her whole life to promote nursing as a career.
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Her Story
Jean began her health career in 1975. At 16 years old she landed a job as a Nurse’s Aid at St. Otto’s nursing home in Little Falls, Minnesota. She was trained and mentored by the nuns at the home, and instinctively knew that this was her life long passion.
Though she encountered many “roadblocks” and obstacles along the way, her passion and determination for her goal to become a Registered Nurse never wavered.
A single parent at age 18, Jean and her young son Michael moved to St. Cloud, MN, where she enrolled in the St. Cloud School of nursing (a 3-year RN program). She also worked at St. Cloud Hospital as a Nursing Assistant (part time) while attending school.
In 1979, part way through the RN program Jean suffered her first set back. New to the stresses of handling school, work and parenting alone, she could not keep her grades up and was dropped from the school after failing a course in Anatomy/Physiology. Undeterred however, she immediately applied for the LPN Program at the St. Cloud Technical College. Although the program was already started, she was allowed to enroll with the stipulation that she catch up with the class within 3 weeks. Around this time, she met her future husband, John, who immediately recognized her passionate goals. With John’s support and assistance with her son, Jean was able to focus on her studies. Jean not only passed the LPN program, she did so with a 3.8 grade point average.
In July 1981 Jean and John were married and Jean, John and Michael Hayen began their life as a family. Jean worked part time at St. Cloud hospital as a LPN while John went to school for accounting. In May 1982 their son Joseph was born. As a young struggling family, they continued living a conservative simple life with all the financial stresses and hurdles of any young couple. In 1984, their third son, Matthew was born and shortly after, Jean suffered another major set-back.
Due to restructuring at St. Cloud Hospital, Jean (as well as a number of other LPN’s) was laid off. Jean then took on simultaneous part-time jobs to make ends meet; including split shifts at REM group home in St. Cloud, a part-time overnight position at the St. Cloud Detoxification Center, and a part-time Nurse Aid position at Good Shepard Nursing Home in Sauk Rapids. After a few months, the St. Cloud Hospital began hiring back LPN’s and Jean went back to work there.
During her 10 year career at St. Cloud, Jean worked 2 years on the Neurological/Rehabilitation floor. She then joined the “float pool”, where she discovered her true calling. Never having an interest in pursuing management, Jean had a passionate love for bedside nursing and being able to work in all areas of the hospital was like a dream come true.
In the mid-1980’s, Jean began to pursue her goal of becoming an RN. She began taking classes at St. Cloud State University. She told her husband; “I don’t care if it takes 10 years, taking one class at a time, I need to do this. In ten years, I can either be an LPN or an RN, either way; I’ll still be ten years older!” So Jean began taking one class at a time, saving money for each one.
In August 1991, Jean and her family moved to Elk River, MN. Working, a straight night position, she commuted to St. Cloud for six months. Jean then applied for a position at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, MN. Due to her vast experience she was hired immediately for a position in the float pool.
Continuing her education, she transferred to Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, and fulfilled her general education requirements. When she got to the point where all she needed was specialized nursing and clinical courses, she applied for and was accepted into the RN mobility program, a 1 year course for transitioning LPN’s to 2- year RN’s. She graduated from that program in 1996, and achieved her goal to become a Registered Nurse! Jean stayed at Mercy Hospital as an RN, and was highly respected by all those she worked with.
Always an advocate for nursing, her husband often joked with her that she should become a Nurse Recruiter – in her mind EVERYONE should become a nurse! Her sons Mike and Joe worked at Mercy as Unit Support, Transport, and other. Her husband even worked (on call) in the Emergency Room as a Unit Secretary for about a year! She tried to get her boys and her husband to go to school to become RN’s.
On September 28, 2006, Jean was called home to the Lord, and everyone she knew was devastated. Her family never really understood the impact she had on the lives on her patients and her co-workers. They knew she was a good nurse, but everyone they met adamantly expressed that she was a truly passionate, caring and outstanding nurse that was an inspiration to everyone with whom she came into contact.
Jean never wanted any attention brought to herself (she would be HIGHLY embarrassed if she knew this web site existed!). All she ever wanted to do was to work as a team, work alongside the LPN’s and Nurse Assistants, and mentor and support everyone. She was highly organized and extremely driven to ensure her patients were well taken care of.
As a tribute to Jean’s love for nursing and patient care, it is with great love and admiration that John, Mike, Joe, and Matt have dedicated this scholarship fund in Jean’s name. Hopefully, someone who has had (or is having) similar hardships and shares the same passion for caring that Jean had will be inspired by this story, and we will be honored to help you achieve your goals. May peace and love be with you always.