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The delta surge rolled in like a tsunami last summer, upending routines and washing away narrow job roles. Everyone pitched in beyond their normal duties, but perhaps none so much as Angi Lango, an OB nurse at Asante Ashland.
AACH is where patients with non-life-threatening cases of COVID are sent to ensure open beds for sicker patients at the other hospitals. As the small hospital became engulfed and staff stretched to their limits, Lango helped relieve some of the pressure.
She volunteered beds in OB to accommodate overflow. And without being asked, she became an unofficial Med/Surg nurse. She provided backup relief so exhausted nurses could rest. She took vitals, administered medications, helped patients get up and walk, and sat with them when they needed company. If it was her day off, she came to work anyway.
“Our supervisors describe Angi as the Florence Nightingale of Ashland” says Gina Tuggle, patient care supervisor for obstetrics at AACH and ARRMC.
It was this dedication that earned Lango the 2021 Annual Values in Action award, Asante’s highest honor.
“In a year where all of us have been pushed to do more and more outside our comfort zones, no one has shown a greater willingness to excel, contribute to her team and provide service than Angi Lango,” says Zoe Abel, a nurse at AACH.
Lango’s selflessness and service to others were widely known even before the pandemic. She has worked at AACH for more than 24 years and earned a remarkable 78 VIAs for exemplifying Asante’s Values.
“I get thousands of compliments for Angi,” Tuggle says. “Going into a room to do leader rounding after Angi has been one of their nurses just fills your heart with love. Angi gives so much of herself to our patients and her peers.”
As one patient put it: “Angie is so sweet and personable. It was like having my mom take care of me.”
Lango was honored at a virtual celebration in November, which was attended by her parents, husband and son. She received a charcuterie box, flowers, badge backer, gift card and crystal award.
But the biggest reward may have been the sentiments from her co-workers and patients that were read at the ceremony. Asked to say a few words, Lango was overcome with emotion. After a pause, she said, “I was thinking with COVID, what was I going to look back on? I just wanted to be helpful and know that I did what I could during a difficult time.”
ANGI LANGO
Current role: Obstetrics nurse
Location: Asante Ashland Community Hospital
With Asante: 24 years
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