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 photos by Joie de Vivre photographie
He took her hand and sang to her…as if she was the only one in the room. Forget the hospital bed she was laying on, the IV’s, medicines and patients in the other rooms. This moment was about her and only her.
For a few minutes, Jared Axen, registered nurse at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, belted out Frank Sinatra’s I’ll Be Seeing You to patient Renee Schram.
It’s not uncommon to hear Jared’s voice throughout the halls of the hospital, singing tunes from the 1940’s and 50’s. “When the patient’s pain medication hasn’t kicked in quite yet, and there’s nothing else they can do but wait, I’ll grab their hand and sing a love song,” states Jared, “and sometimes it helps.”
Jared has lived in the Santa Clarita Valley nearly his entire life. Home schooled all the way through high school, Jared began attending College of the Canyons at age 15. After majoring in music, he decided to get into the nursing program at the college as well. “Nursing was an attractive field because it would allow me to work three to four days a week while still being able to practice and record music,” states Jared. “While working on my music degree, I worked on my nursing degree as well.”
Jared graduated from COC in December of 2008 and was hired at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital just a month later. “I haven’t professionally gone back to music ever since.”
Jared’s presence is in high demand these days, and after hearing him sing, it’s no wonder why. He’s charming and brilliant with an unforgettable voice.
“It’s not about the entertainment,” states Jared. “It’s more than that. It’s a total different way of patient care, it’s making your experience at the hospital an incredible one.”
Just a few months ago, Jared was awarded with a Service Excellence commendation, nominated by a family with whom he made a lasting impression. “There was one particular patient who I would sing to, and every time she was admitted into the hospital, her family would e-mail me requesting I come and sing to her.” The family recorded Jared singing, and the patient would carry the recording wherever she went. “It was one of her and her husband’s songs,” states Jared. “The last email I received was stating that she had passed, and the family requested I sing at her funeral.”
“Jared has made a difference on one of my units, due to his ability to directly impact the lives of his patients,” states Sue Walroth, Nursing Director. “He is a compassionate nurse who goes above and beyond to make his patients feel that they are special and well taken care of. His singing ability has just enhanced those feelings that his patients feel from him. He has always believed that by improving the experience, quality of care, good health outcomes, with a little singing/laughter thrown in, is what will make the patients feel at home during a difficult time. He is a professional and is very eager to please, because when he goes home he knows that he has done everything that he could do to improve the quality of someone else’s life, and that’s why they make nurses.”
Jared’s take? “Sue has given me so many opportunities to share my passion of helping others, assisting me with which patients I can go and sing to,” states Jared. “Good management trickles down to its staff and I’m very appreciative of the leadership she has provided.”
The impact Jared has on the lives of his patients is remarkable. “People ask me why I do these things,” states Jared, “but this is the community where I grew up in, where I continue to grow my roots and where I plan on keeping them. I want to give back, to contribute. God has blessed me with so much, it’s the reason why I do what I do.”
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