Roots of a Calling
Robbi Hagelberg’s nursing story began with a dream deferred—her grandmother’s unfulfilled aspiration to care for others. Growing up in rural Iowa, young Robbi internalized this longing, transforming it into her own life’s purpose. Now, after 35 years in nursing, she reflects on how this career has shaped her worldview: “Every day I wake up thankful for my health and for the health of my family.” This profound gratitude would later fuel her environmental advocacy when she witnessed climate change threatening the very health she cherished.
Climate Change Hits Home
The tranquil woods surrounding Hagelberg’s Stillwater, Minnesota home tell a troubling story. Where her family once wandered freely, now lurk unseen dangers—exploding tick populations that confine them indoors from April through August. In 2019, twin storms of unprecedented fury ravaged their community, toppling century-old ocles with hail and winds that seemed ripped from a dystopian novel. “I have never lived through storms like that before,” Hagelberg recalls, her voice still carrying the shock of witnessing climate disruption transform her familiar landscape. These personal experiences with deteriorating air quality, water contamination, and extreme weather events became impossible to ignore—they demanded action.
From Bedside to Boardroom: A Nurse’s Climate Crusade
As Vice President of Nursing at Lakeview Hospital, Hagelberg recognized her unique position to drive change. She became a Nurse Climate Champion through the Nurses Climate Challenge, declaring, “At some point, you have to put your money where your mouth is.” Her approach was characteristically methodical:
- Educating 80 colleagues across nursing staff and leadership meetings
- Preparing presentations for regional HealthPartners Nursing Leadership summits
- Planning grassroots education at three hospital nursing departments
Hagelberg leverages nurses’ trusted voice in the community: “Patients trust us; they value our input…we have the opportunity to influence in a way that other professionals don’t.” She trains staff to connect patients’ health struggles to environmental factors—whether explaining to an asthma patient why wildfire smoke triggers attacks or helping a Lyme disease patient understand changing tick patterns.
Systemic Change Through Daily Actions
HealthPartners’ environmental commitment—evidenced by four hospitals earning Practice Greenhealth’s Top 25 Award—provides fertile ground for Hagelberg’s work. She champions the ripple effect of small changes: the infusion department eliminating straws, coffee stirrers being phased out, and waste streams being reimagined. “It really only takes a few committed people in each department to make change,” she observes, describing how environmental stewardship becomes contagious when staff see tangible results.
The Nurse as Climate Sentinel
Hagelberg’s colleagues frequently thank her for opening their eyes to climate-health connections in their community. Her secret? Meeting nurses where they are—whether discussing extreme heat’s impact on their cardiac patients or how flooding affects community health outcomes. As she prepares to expand her educational efforts across the HealthPartners system, Hagelberg remains characteristically humble: “If I can influence even a few nursing staff, I know I will have done my part.” Yet her grandmother’s unrealized dream has blossomed into something greater than either could have imagined—a nursing legacy that heals both patients and the planet.
Epilogue: The Ripple Continues
Today, when Hagelberg walks through Lakeview Hospital, she sees more than energy-efficient upgrades and waste reduction programs—she sees a culture shifting. The nurse who once simply wanted to honor her grandmother now inspires an entire healthcare system to recognize its environmental impact. In helping her colleagues understand that every blood pressure cuff discarded and every IV bag ordered carries planetary consequences, she’s ensuring that nursing’s healing mission extends beyond hospital walls to safeguard the health of generations to come.
