All four of the Vasa sisters are extraordinary humans. Born to Barb and Jim and raised in Weston, Neb., they all have spent their lives accumulating skills to help their most vulnerable neighbors.
Angie, the oldest, is director of isolation and quarantine for Nebraska Medicine. Marie, whose last name is now Akerson, has been in the healthcare field since age 16 when she took her first job as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home. Jaime, whose last name is now Kobs, has been a part of Nebraska Medicine since she was 18, at one time working in the pediatric ICU to put herself through nurse anesthesia school. The youngest, Karie, is a licensed mental health therapist at Fremont Health.
"Marie and Jaime are some of the most resilient people I know," said Tiffany Olson, associate director of nurse anesthesia. "Hardworking is one of the first adjectives that come to mind with Jaime. She does not sit idle. She is always looking for ways to help her colleagues and has an excellent attitude."
Marie has a way of thinking outside of the box and challenging the status quo. Students training with Marie often comment on how they have personally benefited from these different perspectives and anesthesia tricks."
They say character is who you are in the dark, and these sisters have had their character tested in recent times. Amidst pandemic chaos last March, Kobs was diagnosed with cervical cancer on the same day the sisters buried their grandmother. Recently, Akerson’s 12-year-old son, Kieran, got an MRI for a reoccurring wrestling injury that revealed a cancerous brain tumor. In recent years, their father won battles with three different types of cancer.
Through it all, they remained compassionate, lighthearted, resilient and relied upon tight familial bonds—both created and biological—to persevere. Department leadership and volunteers strategized to keep Kobs away from Covid-positive cases so that she had a better chance at staying healthy while prepping for surgical treatment. In the wake of Kieran’s brain tumor, meals, gift baskets and personalized shirts and caps of support flooded the Akerson family.
"This department really is a family, and that has especially been reinforced in the last couple weeks as our family has seen an outpouring of love and support," Kobs said. "You honestly hope you never have to use that support, but it is unbelievable how awesome it is."
Before the frenzied pandemic response and health challenges, the sisters spent much time together outside of work, as well. The families spend much of their free time enjoying sports, sun and sand, and mountains and snow. Most summer weekends, you can find the whole crew at the Akerson’s house on a sand pit lake in Valley, Neb.
"When we were growing up, we fought like normal siblings do," Kobs said. "But now we live a block from each other, we check in on each other at work, and our families are very close. If you get one of us, you get all of us."
"I love working in the same place as my sisters," Akerson said. "We see each other all the time. When we have a chance, we will pop in to see one another or give each other breaks to eat or use the restroom."
During nurse anesthesia school, Akerson’s and Kobs’ training briefly overlapped when Akerson was doing clinicals and Kobs was shadowing at the same facility.
Kobs joined the department in April 2015, having previously worked as a care tech in the operating room and as a registered nurse in the pediatric ICU. She initiated the annual recognition of department veterans on Veteran’s Day, posting their pictures and service history in the hallway outside the anesthesia lounge. Both of Kobs’ parents served in the Navy—Jim on a nuclear submarine—and her sister, Karie, is currently an Army reservist. Kobs and her husband, Kevin, have three children: Caden, 16, Kyler, 9, and Kollins, 2.
Akerson joined the department in June 2016. She worked as a CNA through undergraduate nursing school, then was in the first nurse anesthetist class at Clarkson College. Akerson has worked in Nebraska Medicine’s Oncology & Hematology Special Care Unit and the Pediatric ICU an a registered nurse. Akerson’s husband, Josh, also works at Nebraska Medicine as an endoscopy technician. They have five children, Mady, 19, Melody, 17, Kieran, 12, Korbin, 7, and Kendrix, 5.
CRNA Week Spotlight: Marie Akerson & Jaime Kobs
