Hughes & Coleman Hometown Hero: Sandra Gross

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Sandra Gross, Clinical Staff Nurse in Ambulatory Surgery at The Medical Center, is described as a “true servant” to those that know her.

Caring for her family, friends, patients, and co-workers... there is no one she meets that doesn’t immediately discover her kind and caring nature.

“Sandra Gross is a phenomenal person,” said Anna Sparks, a nurse at The Medical Center. “You would not meet a nicer person from head to toe. She goes the extra mile no matter how hard it is to get there.”

That extra mile includes planning everything from baby showers to retirement parties. Often working alone, she spends time before or after her shifts decorating the break room for these events.

Lovingly referred to as “Sandra D” by her co-workers, her singing in the hallways is said to always lift their spirits on the hardest days.

This belief and drive to help others are rooted in her deep sense of empathy and love for her fellow companions.

“It’s important to help others,” Gross said. “You never know when you’re going to need help. So you have to step forward and see what the need is and have to go after it.”

This enthusiasm to make a difference in the lives around her is a trait her co-workers admire the most.

“Somebody might say well I didn’t bring no lunch today and I’ll say okay we got lunch,” said Gross.

She also lets her patients know that someone is there for them when they are facing dark times.

For example, mothers that enter the facility after losing children find handmade blankets with prayers from Sandra in their discharge folder. It is her faith that calls her to pray for and with those that need comfort.

She does these things so that they know someone loves them and cares for them.

Sandra also does her part to pass this supportive and caring attitude to new nurses that she mentors at The Medical Center.

“I remember when I was a new nurse and I was thankful for the people who reached out to me and were kind to me and I was nervous and scared and you just don’t know right or wrong,” Gross said. “You have to have a good mentor that’s going to hold you by the hand and let you know everything’s going to be okay and we are in this together.”

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