River City Six: Ken Noecker
Meet Ken Noecker, a Physical Therapist Assistant at Home Nursing With Heart (homenursingwithheart.com).
Tell us a little about your business.
I work with a great team of professionals at Home Nursing With Heart. It’s a local company started by Julie Laughlin, a nurse who saw a need in the community for home health care services. Her company continues to grow and expand, now offering all the following services: nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and social work. I am on the physical therapy team.
How did you get started in the business?
worked as a therapy tech and went back to school as a non-traditional student at UNO and Clarkson College. After graduating from PTA school I worked in outpatient rehabilitation for 18 years. I joined Julie’s home health care team 7 years ago.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
The health care environment is constantly changing and requires the ability to change with it through continuing education.
What has been your most important achievement professionally?
As a non-traditional student I take pride in the completion of my degree while raising a family.
Tell us a little about your family.
I have 3 wonderful children who are now young adults; I treasure them every day. My beautiful wife and I were married in 1986 and still going strong! I was raised in a small town in northeast Nebraska in a farming community with my 11 other siblings, all of whom I love dearly. My awesome mother is 83 and is absolutely beautiful after raising 9 boys and 3 girls. She has weathered the storm, indeed.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life?
When my children were born.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?
A day spent hiking somewhere warm with my family is a great day! Playing music with my bandmates on the weekend is another favorite. I really don’t get to do it enough.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know?
I play bass guitar and sing in a rock ‘n’ roll band, Quazy. We’ve played together since high school.
What are you the most proud of?
I am very proud of my family and their accomplishments, the care I provide through my work, and my band being inducted into the Nebraska Rock n Roll Hall Fame in 2007.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
You can’t just wish it; you’ve got to work for it.
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be?
Loyal.
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
Stay Free by The Clash.
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
To control the weather like Mother Nature!
What local non-profit organization(s) are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why?
Both of my daughters work for non-profit organizations, Grief’s Journey and Fontenelle Forest, so they definitely have my support too.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
M’s Pub.
If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be?
I think Keith Richards would be fun. I’m currently reading his memoir, Life.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?
Office: (402) 614-4622; Website: homenursingwithheart.com.