About Edson College

 

Juan Sandoval was destined to take care of people. First as a medic in the military, then as a civilian nurse and nurse leader, and now as a faith leader.  

“When I was a nurse, I was there to heal the body and now as a minister, I’m here to heal the soul,” he said.

This May Sandoval will be recognized as a Golden Graduate, celebrating 50 years since earning his first degree from Arizona State University, a Bachelor of Science in nursing. It’s a significant milestone, especially considering Sandoval’s military service.

As a medic in the mid-1960s he was deployed overseas to serve during the Vietnam War. Sandoval said the deployment was an experience like none other, and through it, he discovered that the health profession and providing care was his calling. Once he was back stateside he enrolled at ASU.

“Arizona State’s education and the opportunities that they afforded me really helped form in my mind what I wanted to do in the future,” said Sandoval.

After graduation he got a job as a registered nurse, working at a local Valley hospital while continuing his military service in a reserve duty role. Things were going well. Life was good and he could have remained on that path, but a fateful visit back to campus set him up for something more.

“I went back to just walk through the halls and see some of my former instructors and old hangout spots. And while talking with one of my former professors, she said ‘you need to start on your master’s degree,’” he said.

That conversation lit a spark and Sandoval returned to the university to pursue a graduate degree. In 1981, Sandoval became a two-time Sun Devil alum, earning a master’s degree in health care administration.

Soon after revisiting his time at ASU, he decided to revisit his time in the military as well. He re-enlisted, returning to active duty as a member of the Army Nurse Corps.

“I submitted my paperwork for commission and got a commission as a first lieutenant in the Army. So I have 28 years in the military, with the last 20 or so in the Army Nurse Corps,” Sandoval said.
For many people, retiring from the military for a second time would be the end of the story, but it was just the end of another chapter for Sandoval. 

His passion for helping others was still just as strong nearly 30 years into his career, so he found a way to channel it into another area of health care; Sandoval took a leadership role at a hospital in Oklahoma but was never too far from the bedside.

“Even as the director, I liked to walk through the units to see the patients and what my nurses were doing,” Sandoval said.

Interestingly, it wasn’t until he was nearing the end of his time in health care that he achieved what he considers his biggest career accomplishment in the profession.

Sandoval says at the time, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates in the United States were soaring. He was a key member of a transformation project to lower these rates.

“As part of this project, we made simple yet effective changes to patients’ daily care, so things like keeping their heads at a 35-degree angle and using chlorhexidine mouthwash. They weren’t high-level technology; they were simple things, but they made a huge difference. We (Norman Regional Hospital) went from one of the worst in the country to the best after the project’s first year,” he said.

One of the driving forces in Sandoval’s life and career in service was his faith. That made his transition out of health care in 2010 and into spiritual care a seamless one, as Sandoval became an ordained minister in 2011. 

He lives in Atlanta now and continues to provide care for people, only now it’s a congregation, and he’s focused on their spiritual health.