Mark Stevens, manager of children’s programs for the Centers for Independence, joined the organization in 2014 after serving two tours in Iraq as a combat medic with the U.S. Army.
In the service, Stevens was responsible for the health, welfare and morale of four platoon-level medics in a light infantry unit. On his return, he received certified nursing training from CFI, joined the children’s program staff as a CNA and became a registered nurse.
Stevens, who has twice been nominated as Wisconsin Nurse of the Year, oversees CFI’s medical daycare for medically fragile children, school for children with complex medical needs, and early childhood Birth to Three program.
Although the medical day program closed briefly in 2020, Stevens, who is trained in a trauma-informed care approach, escalated safety protocols at the daycare and transport vans so children could return and receive the critical nursing care they needed.Â
Without its reopening, the children, many of whom are ventilator- or tracheostomy-dependent, would have had to stay at home with costly in-home nursing and without the opportunity to receive care, learn and socialize.Â
