From NICU Patient to Future Nurse: A Full-Circle Story at HaysMed

When Kenli Larson arrived at HaysMed’s Birth Center for a two-day clinical rotation, she was eager to learn more about a career in labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care, and women’s health.

What she didn’t expect was to meet someone who had already played an important role in her life.

A nursing student at Colby Community College and a native of Sharon Springs, Kansas, Kenli has long felt drawn to caring for mothers and babies. Her interest comes from both her passion for nursing and a deeply personal connection to the specialty.

Kenli was born prematurely at 34 weeks and spent her first three days of life in the HaysMed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

While spending time in the Birth Center during her clinical rotation, Kenli learned that one of the nurses who cared for her all those years ago was still working at HaysMed.

That nurse was Doris Rack.

For 50 years, Doris has dedicated her career to caring for mothers, newborns, and families across western Kansas at HaysMed. Over those five decades, she has helped welcome generations of babies into the world, many of whom have gone on to become parents themselves.

Now, one of those babies is preparing to become a nurse.

“It was incredible to think that someone who cared for me when I was only a few days old is still making a difference in the lives of families today,” Kenli said.

The moment was especially meaningful because it represented far more than a chance encounter. It reflected the lasting impact healthcare professionals can have on the communities they serve.

Raised in a family dedicated to rural healthcare and agriculture, Kenli understands the importance of those community connections. Her mother, Tammy,  works as an X-ray technician at Greeley County Hospital in Tribune, while her father, Beau, farms in western Kansas. Growing up, she witnessed firsthand how vital healthcare providers are to rural communities and the relationships they build with the people they serve.

That experience helped inspire her own path into nursing. When Kenli graduates in May 2027, she hopes to pursue a career in labor and delivery, the NICU, or another area focused on caring for mothers and newborns.

Her story is one that reflects the strength of rural healthcare. Communities invest in their caregivers, caregivers invest in their patients, and sometimes those patients are inspired to become caregivers themselves.

At HaysMed’s Birth Center, that commitment continues every day through a team of OB-GYN specialists, labor and delivery experts, neonatal providers, nurses, and support staff dedicated to caring for families throughout every stage of pregnancy, birth, and newborn care.

For Doris, seeing Kenli begin her nursing journey is a reminder of why she chose this profession 50 years ago. And for Kenli, meeting the nurse who cared for her as a premature newborn served as confirmation that she is exactly where she is meant to be.

Sometimes the people who inspire our future are the very ones who helped shape our beginning.