Sheryl Stoolman, nurse and emergency responder

Thursday morning wasn’t the first time Sheryl Stoolman volunteered to accompany a patient from Carroll to Des Moines.  In 2006, a severe snow storm was underway when the nurse from St. Anthony Regional Hospital said she would ride in the ambulance.   

She did it again on Thursday, taking her usual position – beside her patient, providing treatment, comfort and reassurance.  Sadly, that patient would be Sheryl’s last.   

The ambulance was about 38 miles east of Carroll on Highway 30, about halfway between Jefferson and Boone, when it encountered a semi about to make a left turn.  Suddenly seeing the ambulance coming up behind him, the semi driver moved toward the right lane.  At the same moment, the ambulance, driven by Robert Genzen of Manning, also moved to the right lane and his vehicle struck the back of the trailer.   

The collision killed Sheryl and her patient, 75-year-old Norbert Hoffman of Carroll.  Genzen was also injured and was flown to Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines.  The semi driver was not seriously hurt.   

Paramedic Wendy Baker, also riding in the rear of the ambulance, was taken to Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson.  Iowa State Patrol officers said that when they arrived at the accident, Baker was working feverishly to treat Sheryl, Genzen and their patient, ignoring her own injuries.  They had to pull her away.   

Sheryl was a nurse at St. Anthony for more than 25 years.  Over those years, her responsibilities included trauma nursing educator, organ donation program leader and coordinating the local emergency medical services team.   

Sheryl Stoolman, with St. Anthony Regional Hospital CEO Gary Riedmann, just after she received her Iowa Hospital Heroes Award in 2007.

 Living within walking distance of the hospital, Sheryl had no real concept of “on-duty” or “off-duty.”  She regularly attended to the bumps and scrapes of neighborhood children and checked on elderly neighbors.  She took personal time to visit and counsel the parents of a young cancer patient – before, during and after treatments.  More than once, she provided them with a calm, reassuring presence, even during several fretful, middle-of-the-night calls.   

Sheryl was truly a community nurse, a caregiver for all of Carroll.  That is why in 2007 Sheryl became one of the first recipients of the Iowa Hospital Heroes Award.  The coworkers who nominated Sheryl for the award said her work and dedication not only impacted St. Anthony, but the entire community.  More than an amazing nurse, they called her “Carroll’s hero.”  

Gary Riedmann, St. Anthony Regional Hospital CEO and a member of the IHA Board, said the hospital and community are working to cope with the loss: “Sheryl Stoolman was an exceptionally kind, gentle, professional nurse.  For many in our community, Sheryl was their guardian angel, always there to support and help out.  Our prayers and thoughts are with her family.  We miss Sheryl.”  

The ambulance trip in the 2006 blizzard, like Thursday’s run, was just a small example from Sheryl’s long career of generous giving and constant caring.   

That’s the way Sheryl Stoolman lived – selflessly, compassionately, courageously – all the way to the end.