Kim Mountz has been on a life journey filled with challenges, self- awareness and successes.

As a single mom, Kim’s main focus has been providing the best life possible for herself and her daughter while relying on her favorite quote, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Kim began working in a factory assembling bottoms to chairs, a job that provided her income but no sense of meaning. After standing in one spot eight hours a day, she thought, “I cannot do this for the rest of my life.”

After her daughter graduated, this insight into her future spurred Kim to obtain a bachelor’s in nursing (BSN).

Being a single mom comes with its own inherent trials, but for Kim, her desire to serve people through a nursing career added more challenges.

She began working different hospital nursing jobs, eventually choosing the Intensive Care Unit and the ER. Kim heard that nurses only work in nursing homes if they can’t make it anywhere else, so she says, “I let that chatter get the best of me, and I went to work at the hospital. I suppose I wanted to prove to those people and myself, that I could work in the hospital or anywhere else I wanted to work.”

Working in the hospital environment afforded Kim the opportunity to watch and learn. She observed many nurses wanting to take care of the younger heart patients, but Kim was drawn to the geriatric patients with dementia.

Realizing her nursing skills would translate to any area of nursing, Kim says, “I decided to return to the population that deserved the same care as everyone else, so I went back to the nursing home to work full time, and have been there ever since.”

Through her many positions, Kim believes she has learned something and gained valuable insights in every job: “I learned to be fair to everyone. Treat everyone with respect and get to know something about them as a person.”

Kim is dedicated and passionate about her work at Hillcrest Healthcare, but has developed a full life outside of her nursing. She likes to hike, swim and do some quilting but most of all, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

Service is also at the heart of Kim’s time off. She helps with animal rescues in the community, and is active in the health ministry at her church.

Her dedication to working and learning has evolved into teaching others as well. She wants to find ways to assist in teaching and mentoring others in how to care for our elderly population.

KnoxTNToday’s goal is to inform, uplift and entertain. Send stories or comments to news@knoxtntoday.com.