Terri Gingerich is currently adjunct faculty at Valparaiso University (VU), teaching prospective healthcare professionals in the school’s College of Nursing and Health Professions. Before she came into the role, she served as a nurse for many years, beginning all the way back in 1984 at Porter Memorial Hospital, a building now demolished. What has never crumbled, however, is Gingerich’s rich grip on her approach to impactful nursing.
Gingerich started her post–high school studies at what formerly was called Purdue University North Central, currently Purdue University Northwest, in Westville, Indiana, about 20 or so minutes away from VU. She attained her associate’s degree at the former, her bachelor’s at the latter. Her master’s took her across the country, finally earning it at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
Gingerich worked in critical care at Porter Memorial Hospital until 2006. Her position took on a threefold nature. She’d tend to the hospital’s patients, helping them to get better; she’d also collaborate with her fellow staff members, working with them to provide the best possible service to patients. The final component of her vocation was an overarching concern for the maintenance and stability of the hospital — all of which are now looked on by her as her favorite aspects of what she did for so long.
A deep sense of compassion for all people within Gingerich is what guided her love for everything she did throughout the duration of her career.
“What’s kept me going is just a love of people. If you get into healthcare, you really are getting into the people business because it's people taking care of people. I enjoyed that, and I enjoyed watching people grow in different positions. Healthcare in general is a hard industry to be in, but I don't think there is any other industry where you can make a difference in people's lives every day. To have that opportunity and to be welcomed into people's lives is, I think, an honor,” she said.
Nowadays, Gingerich’s attention is drawn toward her role as the chief quality officer at Northwest Health - Porter, the go-to hospital for multitudes of folks in Porter County, and her role as a teacher. Well-versed in the fast-paced environment of any kind of place in which people seek medical attention, she brings a lot to the table in regard to her attributes as an instructor, too. She’s also never been one to neglect the privilege of being able to learn, taking everything and anything she does learn for all that it is in order to milk it completely.
“Especially in the last years of my career, I saw every aspect of the hospital: the business side, quality side, and human resources side. Working through a pandemic and the changes that it brought about, I kept relearning how vital it is to make a difference. My teaching students with those experiences should hopefully make things real for them and better prepare them to go into the workforce,” she said. “I just love learning, too, so the learning I get back from the students is really powerful. It's the driving force behind what I do.”
Gingerich is the mother of five children. She has one in every timezone, which permits her to do a fair bit of traveling with her husband. In her spare time, she relishes the delights of gardening and reading. She’s also been an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church for over 30 years. It’s taken some time for her to master the complexities of a healthy work-life balance, but in recent years she’s been able to put her finger on what makes one really potent.
“Similar to most people in my generation, I just worked a long time without limitations. It was the American dream — you have to work hard and provide for your family. Since I've left the hospital in some capacity, I’ve been allowed to be more in control of a balance, which allows me to do all the things that I love but more on my schedule,” she said.
Valparaiso is Gingerich’s home. She’s been in the area for numerous years now, and it’s brought her all sorts of sensations of joy and thankfulness.
“I love the community, and I've always loved the sense of it that you get here in Valpo. I love downtown, and I feel like it's done nothing but improve. I raised my kids in that area, too. There was just so much for them to do, and that’s what’s great for everyone here,” she said.