At the beginning of 2020, nursing alumna Rachel Hartley was working as a preoperative surgical nurse in Virginia, helping prepare 30 to 50 patients a day for elective and emergency surgery. But when the coronavirus began to sweep across the nation, surgeries dropped as her hospital readied itself for a surge of COVID-19 patients.

She began receiving emails from recruiters looking for nurses and healthcare workers to help out in New York City. Hartley, who trained as a critical care nurse in Columbus after Cedarville, felt the Lord nudging her to go. She and her husband, Taylor, decided to make the trip in their sailboat, Turning Points. A marina in Brooklyn, which normally charges up to $11,000 a month, offered to let them dock for free. God was confirming this step of faith.  

Hartley credits both her undergrad and her current Cedarville Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner programs for preparing her well to meet the physical needs of patients while also meeting spiritual needs with the Good News of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Rachel Hartley is anchored by her faith.

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Rachel’s husband, Taylor, has his own photography business: thartleyphotography.com.

Rachel and Taylor’s story can also be found online at the Cedarville website.