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A Life Dedicated to Service: From the Air Force to VNA Care's Nursing Team

Jennifer Hurley’s patients are often surprised to learn that the visiting nurse caring for them spent nearly seven years serving our country in the United States Air Force.

A career in the military hadn’t been on Jennifer’s radar when she graduated from a vocational high school as a certified nursing assistant. She loved caring for patients, but 9/11 compelled her to take a different path. She met with a military recruiter two months after the national tragedy and started basic training that March.

She laughs as she remembers, “My mom was like a drill sergeant when I was growing up, so basic training came kind of easy to me. I have a very close-knit family, so the hardest part was being away from them.”

During Jennifer’s service, she was deployed to Pakistan, Iraq, Korea, and Afghanistan. Her work included supporting generals and pilots as well as combat support. Her medical knowledge was put to use as a contact for Self Aid Buddy Care, a program where she taught basic life support and limb-saving techniques.

Jennifer left the Air Force in 2008 as a staff sergeant. From there, Jennifer likes to say she “did life backwards,” becoming a mother and then furthering her nursing education. She began working as a registered nurse four years ago and joined VNA Care’s home health care team in 2023.

She finds her work as a visiting nurse incredibly rewarding. She collaborates with other clinicians, including nurses and nurse specialists, rehabilitation therapists and social workers, to provide life-changing health care in patients’ homes. She’s been part of the home health care team’s efforts to enable an elderly couple to avoid a nursing home placement by connecting them with resources to support their independence and in successfully preventing another patient’s leg amputation by healing a serious wound.

“I don’t think people realize the high level of care we can provide in the home. I have a lot of patients who come home with PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) lines and IV antibiotics when normally they would have had to stay in the hospital until that course of treatment was run. Being able to do that in the home is huge,” said Jennifer.

She often finds herself caring for other veterans. “Once they find out you’re a veteran too, they look at you differently,” said Jennifer. “I had one patient who was a veteran who had a lot of trust issues. Once he found out I was a veteran, he let his guard down and was able to connect with me on that level. We got to talking about our service. It’s gratifying to be able to be there for fellow veterans.”