The Health Center at Kent serves as a safety net for all students who need help, either physically or emotionally. Dr. Lefebvre is on call 24/7, and nurses work shifts both during the day and the night all week round as well. When necessary, students may stay at the Health Center overnight, and night nurses take care of them from 7:30 P.M. til 7:30 A.M. the next day. Though their work schedule is demanding, the Health Center staff are always patient and caring, providing medicine, food, snacks, and drinks whenever the need arises.

Nurse Bonita Sanada-Porter is a night nurse at Kent, who works either 3 or 4 shifts per week. She handles students who are ill, feel unsafe, or homesick by first getting their medical history, then checking for vital signs (temperature, lung, throat), and giving medication. She emphasizes “thinking outside the box” while nursing patients; for example, she once put hydrogen peroxide into someone’s ear after a bug crawled in. Instead of using alcohol or water, she chose the optimal option that did not hurt the patient’s ear or drive the bug further in. Her favorite thing about her job is that she knows a student will feel better after she assesses them and gives them medication, from something as simple as putting ice on their ankle to giving authentic advice that they should see a therapist. Nurse Bonita also makes sure that the patient knows what the nurse is doing. She used to fear that students didn’t want an old person to take care of them, but she gradually realized that Kent students appreciate old nurses just the same.

Nurse Bonita decided to become a night nurse in consideration of her family, so that she may spend time with them during the day. She has been a night nurse since she was 20 years old, gaining substantial experience in taking care of patients, including once being a cardiorespiratory nurse. Though the positive impact that nurses make is often underreported, Nurse Bonita has greatly contributed to the Kent community.