UI Health Care helps burn patients heal, find hope again

A special staff connection

Nurse manager Jolyn Schneider (88BSN) and patient care technician Steven Hoff know firsthand what it's like to be a child in the hospital - experiences that now guide their care for young patients like Brody at the Burn Treatment Center.

Schneider, who grew up in the small northeast Iowa town of Luxemburg, was hospitalized for long stretches as a child at UI Health Care and Mayo Clinic because of a rare skin condition called pustular psoriasis. Resembling burns it causes large, painful blisters with a high risk for infection. During weeks and monthslong stays, hospital staff became like family to her. She remembers chatting with the nurses on their breaks and going on rounds with doctors while wearing their lab coats. "I knew then that I wanted to do that for somebody someday," says Schneider. "I remember from the time I was in second grade saying I wanted to be a nurse."

Meanwhile, a horrific accident first brought Hoff to the UI in 1992. At age 2, he fell into a campfire at a campsite just south of Iowa City and suffered third-degree burns to his arms, neck, and face. His mother was told he might not survive - or, at best, lose his arms. Instead, Hoff underwent multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and years of physical therapy at Iowa. Though he lost the tips of two fingers, doctors ultimately restored function to his arms and hands.

Schneider was on a job shadow with burn specialists at UI Health Care early in her career when Hoff was rushed in that night. "I remember just watching all the teamwork and the people around this very little boy," Schneider recalls. "I just remember thinking, 'He has to be so scared, and he needs people to be with him.'"