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Jeno Hargrove was born Aug. 20, 1956 in Weimar, Texas to Garland and Kate Nelson.
She moved to Columbus with her parents when she was young and has since considered herself not only a Columbus native, but a hometown girl.
“My grandmother and my whole entire family were raised here,” Hargrove said. “That’s our roots — Columbus.”
Growing up, she watched her aunt, Josie Thompson, which is her dad’s sister, take care of her grandmother. Her aunt worked at the local clinic as a medical assistant. This helped to spark Hargrove’s interest in becoming a nurse.
“When I was younger, my grandmother was a geriatric, but she always was caregiving for people too in this community,” Hargrove said. “But for her, she became ill, and just as a family, we took care of her in my aunt’s home. Whatever we were asked to do, I felt comfortable doing that. And just watching my aunt throughout the years care for her, it felt like that was something I wanted to do... to be compassionate and be a patient advocate for people that needed quality care.”
She went on to mention how taking care of elderly members when they become ill is a tradition in African-American culture.
“In Black history, the families took care of their loved ones,” she said. “They really did. They always took care of their loved ones in the home. And that’s what my aunt did for her mother.”
Hargrove recalls her grandmother not only caring for others, but for her dad and siblings growing up.
“When we were little, my mother had passed on at an early age,” Hargrove said. “We lived with our grandmother and my aunt and my father.”
Around the time Hargrove was in high school, she decided to become a caregiver.
“After I graduated from school, I went to work as a nurse’s assistant at one of the local nursing homes. And then from there, I became more interested in caring for people, for patients and residents.”
Hargrove started working at Columbus Community Hospital in June 1981. As she watched other people in their role, she realized she could do more if she had a license. While working at the hospital, she enrolled at Wharton County Junior College and got her degree as a licensed vocational nurse in 1983.
While she had a passion for taking care of people, Hargrove took a special liking to the emergency room, which she describes as “the gateway” for many people to the hospital.
“The emergency room was a true love for me. I love drama,” she said. “I love being down there. It was one of my first jobs when I became a nurse...I really enjoyed taking care of people.”
The passion she felt in the emergency room gave her the mission to serve each person that comes through the doors with care and compassion.
“They’re the most important person and I never wanted to be judgmental,” she said. “If you listen carefully, and you provide them with the best care possible, they’ll get better under the guidance of physicians.”
As she moved up in her role at the hospital, she said the nurses and physicians at the hospital would ask her to take on leadership roles in different departments. As she continued her career in nursing, she decided to go back to school and in 1999, she became a registered nurse.
That same year, Hargrove was promoted to director of nursing. She describes the promotion as an honor as she reflects on her time working at the hospital.
“The quality of work that I have provided throughout the years, my ability to communicate with others and being already in a leadership position in different departments...and then asked to be promoted to director of nursing because of my leadership...I thought it was a great honor for my boss to ask me to do that.”
In her role, Hargrove strived to help other nurses become leaders in their departments.
“I decided for each department, you need to have some type of leadership,” she said. “And you need to have one person that staff can go to, and that person can help them make decisions, brainstorm with them, and make the best decision for that patient and that department.”
Throughout her time serving as a director of nursing for over 20 years at the hospital, she really wanted to help nurses develop. This was her philosophy to her nursing staff: “If you’re going to be the leader and you want to take the role, learn the nursing skill set....so you can be the best leader that you possibly can be for that patient and their loved ones.”
Hargrove decided to retire in December 2022. The hospital staff arranged a party to celebrate Hargrove, which to her surprise, came with a proclamation signed by state Sen. Donna Campbell.
“I didn’t know my boss had did that,” she laughs. “I was very shocked that they were at the party.”
Hargrove was presented the proclamation by her boss, James Vanek, who is the CEO and Administrator at Columbus Community Hospital. As previously noted in a report by The Citizen, the proclamation reads in part: “She has led the nursing staff of Columbus Community Hospital with diligence and dedication.”
Sen. Campbell also serves as the medical director over the emergency room at the hospital.
“I worked with [Campbell] for years, probably 15-20 years in the emergency room,” Hargrove said. “So, she knew of my nursing and my devotion to the nursing staff...it was very very moving. Very touching. I was very very surprised.”
Hargrove has served as a pillar in the community for over 40 years. The residents of Columbus have come to know her as the person who has helped take care of them and their loved ones.
“The people here in this community, they know who I am, they see me on the street... they recognize you as the nurse that took care of them,” she said. “You know, just for somebody to say, ‘you were in the delivery room with all three of the babies.’” She laughs thinking about running into people in the community and them telling her that some of their children are now 21-years old!
“People tell me, ‘you were the best nurse’ and ‘you took so good care of my parents or my child’... it’s just great to be appreciated,” she said. “To be recognized in my community as someone that worked at the hospital. And it’s just overwhelming.”
During her time at the hospital, Hargrove said she also loved working with the Women’s Auxiliary group, which was a group of volunteers at the hospital. She describes them as “a tremendous asset.”
“They were so instrumental in helping me to purchase all types of medical equipment for my obstetrics department, my ER, any department,” she said. “Those ladies with just so much heart. It’s a nice feeling of warmth and love that somebody appreciated you.”
Since her retirement, Hargrove has enjoyed spending time with fami ly, including her husband, Leo Hargrove, daughter, Melinda, and her two god-children — one boy and one girl who she adores as her grandchildren.
Her daughter also took a similar path in the medical industry as a pharmacist. She laughs thinking about the time she and her daughter were both in school at the same time when Melinda was in pharmacy school at Texas Southern University.
While Hargrove is not serving in the same capacity at the hospital since her retirement, she will stay involved at the hospital by serving on the Hospital Foundation Board starting this May.
