Honorees

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Year Honored
2011
Honoree
Sheryl M Stoolman
Agency
St. Anthony's Regional Hospital
Agency City
Carroll
Agency State
IA
Last Call
5/13/10
Cause of Death
Ambulance Involved MVC
Biography
They called her "Carroll's Hero." Sheryl Stoolman was born May 20, 1956, and attended Christ the King School and graduated from Kuemper High School in 1974. She then graduated from the St. Anthony School of Nursing in 1976, as a Licensed Practical Nurse. On Aug. 14, 1976, she married her loving husband, Dan. She received her Registered Nursing Degree in 1986, from the Des Moines Area Community College. She was employed at St. Anthony Regional Hospital for 26 years and was the director of the emergency room unit for 19 years. She also worked as a part-time paramedic and assisted with quality control for the Carroll County Ambulance Service<br /> <br /> 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 patients: 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.<br /> <br /> She shared her love for helping people with others by teaching at DMACC, often telling students of her adventures from the Emergency Department. One of her students posted, "Most will remember her as an amazing nurse who loved her job, but to many of us students, we will remember her as an amazing teacher who made sure we were ready for anything."<br /> <br /> On the morning of May 13, 2010, Sheryl volunteered to assist with a critical care transport of a patient on a vent when weather conditions prevented an air transport. Sheryl and the patient she was caring for were killed when the ambulance struck a semi truck that was attempting to yield when it crossed into the ambulance's path. Sheryl was 53.<br /> <br /> Stoolman received many awards for her excellence in nursing including the Iowa Hospital Heroes Award and the Heroes of the Heartland Award. She has also been posthumously awarded the 2010 Carroll Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian Award.<br /> <br /> Honored 2011