When Kyle LeBon first arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals as agency staff, he didn’t expect it would become the place he would eventually call home.
Like many nurses, LeBon was weighing opportunities, exploring different workplaces and looking for the right fit. What he found at Madonna was something he couldn’t easily leave behind.
“I started at Madonna and I instantly really liked the place,” LeBon said. “Eventually I did leave in hopes to get out of the Midwest for the winter, but grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
Just a few months later, the nurse who had planned to move on found himself reaching back out.
“I just missed the place,” he said. “After a couple of months of not being here, I sent out an email and was like, ‘Hey, would you guys be into me coming back?’ They were very welcoming, took me in with open arms and I came back maybe four or five months after I left and have been here ever since.”
For LeBon, healthcare has always been personal. Inspired by his mother, a nurse, and shaped by years spent supporting his younger brother, who was born with a spinal cord injury, LeBon saw firsthand the impact compassionate caregivers can have on patients and families.
“My mom is a nurse and she’s kind of my best friend, so I wanted to follow in her footsteps,” he said. “Seeing the nurses who were able to make a difference in his day, that small difference that a person can make in someone’s hospital stay, really attracted me.”
Now in his fifth year as a nurse, LeBon works primarily in acute rehabilitation and enjoys caring for many of the same patient populations that influenced his decision to enter the profession.
“I do enjoy working with our spinal cord injury patients because of the personal connection and just being able to be there for someone like that,” he said.
When asked what advice he would offer new nursing graduates, LeBon doesn’t point to pay or benefits first. Instead, he encourages future nurses to find a workplace where they feel valued, connected and supported.
“Do not always just pick the place with the highest pay,” he said. “Pick a place that supports you, a place that kind of feels like home versus a job.”
That feeling, he says, is what separates Madonna.
“Everyone treats you like family,” LeBon said. “You’re not just there to earn a paycheck. You’re there to make a difference.”
It’s also why he believes patients and staff alike develop such strong connections to the organization.
“There is a reason that a lot of patients here are sad to leave or don’t want to leave,” he said. “It’s because this place is awesome. The teamwork, everyone’s kindness and collaboration, it’s truly like a home here versus a job or any other hospital.”
For LeBon, that sense of home was powerful enough to bring him back. And years after first accepting a contract at Madonna, he’s still glad he did.