This Mother’s Day, Meet Some of Bassett Healthcare Network’s Mother-Daughter Caregiver Duos

For some, choosing a career path as a healer can run in the family.

This Mother’s Day, we honor the many, many families that have multiple members who work as Bassett Healthcare Network caregivers.

Starting all the way back with Bassett Medical Center’s founder , our network has a proud tradition of generational bonds. Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett was the daughter of two physicians: Drs. Wilson T. and Mary Augusta Bassett. Both Dr. Mary Augusta Bassett and Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett were pioneers in medicine, bringing quality care to patients living in small, rural towns way back during a time when house calls were the norm.

Our network’s caregivers carry this legacy forward each day they report to their units and begin their shifts.

For Christine and Emily Howard, Nursing Is a Family Bond

Christine Howard has been a registered nurse (RN) for 26 years and she describes her career as a lifelong calling to care for others. She works at Bassett Medical Center and supports the network as a Clinical Nurse Educator for Post-Anesthesia Care Units (PACUs) and Ambulatory Surgery Units (ASUs). She currently supports her fellow nurses at Bassett Medical Center and A.O. Fox Hospital.

Her daughter, Emily Howard, RN, works in Bassett Medical Center’s Special Care Unit. She graduated with her nursing degree two years ago and followed her mom to Bassett. Her dad is also an RN and is one of seven nurses in the family!

“I just like helping people. Being there for them in their most vulnerable times is one of the most rewarding parts of the job,” said Emily. “And it helps knowing my family members have been in the same shoes and had similar experiences. If I need to go home and vent, they know what I’m talking about.”

Christine is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments and honored that she can support her, as her mom, and other nurses, through her role as an educator.

“In nursing, there are so many different avenues. I have truthfully worked in quite a few different ones. While raising my kids, I switched roles a few times,” said Christine. “So, I always tell nurses, you can work bedside forever if you want, but you don’t have to. There are other areas you can explore.”

For Sabrina and Jasmine Rouse, Connection Can Be Found with A Look Across the ER

Sabrina Rouse, RN, and her daughter, Jasmine Rouse, RN, both work in the Emergency Department at Little Falls Hospital. There are times when their shifts align and they are in the ER together.

“It’s nice to have that camaraderie on shifts,” said Jasmine. “I know I can always look around the corner and know my mom’s over there.”

Sabrina was not always a nurse. She once worked in insurance but decided to go back to school after volunteering with EMS. Sabrina went to nursing school while Jasmine and her sister were small children.

“I definitely have memories. A lot of early mornings and my mom was so stressed,” Jasmine recollects with a laugh. “For the longest time, I was like ‘I’m not going to be a nurse’ and it was a big no for a long time. Then I got an opportunity to do a high school course where I could earn some college credits in advance. I connected with people well and was already pretty empathetic. I’d say this all kind of fell in my lap.”

Both mother and daughter value moments when they know their work is making a real impact on the lives of their patients, when they can feel how much their patient appreciates the care they are receiving.

“For me, I find fulfillment in helping the really sick patients. Keeping them from getting worse and helping them get better,” said Sabrina.

For Wendy and Ashley Kiuber, it’s All About Their Rural Community

At least three generations of women found their way into healthcare careers in Wendy and Ashley Kiuber’s family.

“My mother was a nurse, my sister is a nurse, my aunt is a nurse, and now my daughter is a nurse. My brother is in physical therapy,” said Wendy. “I chose the administrative route.”

Wendy currently works in Population Health, focusing on community-wide health goals centered around outreach, awareness, and equity. Her daughter, Ashley, is an RN, who currently works in Labor and Delivery, helping new parents welcome their babies. Both Ashley and her brother were born at Bassett Medical Center. Ashley will soon take on a new role in Pulmonology and Ambulatory Care.

“Seeing my mom work in healthcare and going to her office after school exposed me to the field,” explains Ashley. “Graduating from high school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and seeing my grandmother in the hospital during that time, then solidified my decision. I feel like I’m doing something to help people during times when they are vulnerable.”

Both Wendy and Ashley agree that Cooperstown and its surrounding communities are special. Ashley and Wendy each earned degrees from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica and Wendy was surprised that Ashely found her way back to Bassett after spending time in that more urban area. According to Ashley, it’s family and a sense of community that keeps her here.

“It’s just the small-town person in me. Whether you’re at the gym, at the hospital, or at a restaurant you will often see people or patients that you know,” said Ashley.

“Paths are constantly crossing and intersecting when you provide rural healthcare,” said Wendy. “The people that you’re taking care of are the people that you work with, the people who own local businesses, and the people who live in your community.”