Retired Nurse Vaccinated In Former Lake Forest Hospital Workplace

LAKE FOREST, IL — An acclaimed Lake Forest Hospital nurse returned to her longtime workplace to receive her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Jean Ewing, 92, of Waukegan, spent 21 years in the medical surgery unit and another 21 years as a maternity nurse — working in the same building on the south side of the North Westmoreland Road hospital campus where she was vaccinated earlier this month.

“When I went to the room to get my vaccine, the last time I saw it, it was filled with cribs and babies,” Ewing said, recalling the former maternity ward.

Part of the original hospital, which closed after Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital opened its new building in 2018, the maternity ward recently reopened for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, according to hospital officials.

“It was wonderful to come back to such a special place, which felt clean and seemed much bigger than I had remembered it," Ewing said. "Knowing that it’s now being used to vaccinate people during this critical time warms my heart.”

Ewing earned her nursing degree in 1949 and, in 1966, decided to enroll in a refresher course offered at Lake Forest Hospital, where she was offered a part-time staff position and soon decided to go full-time.

Before Ewing's retirement in 2009, hospital officials renamed its prestigious annual "Florence Nightengale Nursing Excellence Award" to the "Jean Ewing Nursing Excellence Award" in 2006. The award recognizes outstanding nurses at Lake Forest Hospital, where senior staff continue to celebrate Ewing's legacy.

“Jean holds a special place in my heart as being ‘an inspiration to the profession of nursing,’" Christine Somberg, an advanced practice registered nurse and longtime colleague of Ewing.

Ewing's March 12 jab was one of more than 23,600 vaccine doses, both first and second, to be administered by Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital as of Monday, according to a spokesperson.

Northwestern Medicine as a whole had fully vaccinated 64,788 patients and employees. The system received nearly 9,900 first doses this week.

Vaccination appointments through the health care system are currently limited to established patients and employees, with guidelines based on allocations of doses, the population served and the hospital's partnerships with state and county public health officials.

Somberg, now director of professional practice and development at Lake Forest Hospital, said Ewing's ability to develop relationships with those in her care set her apart.

“Jean was always present with her patients and made that special connection that I called the ‘Jean Ewing magic,’ She was truly called to serve and gave from her heart 110 percent," Somberg said.

"Jean also taught me that spending extra time at the patient’s bedside goes a long way and never goes out of fashion. Jean contributed to Lake Forest Hospital’s nursing excellence in maternity services, and her legacy will always be remembered."