Nate Boles
HDH site grounds keeper, Nate Boles.
Credit
Matthew Manor/KHSC

While many of us are still abed at 4:30 a.m. on these muggy summer mornings, Nate Boles is already on deck at our Hotel Dieu Hospital site, turning on the taps to give hundreds of thirsty plants a long drink before the heat of the day strikes. 

The sole groundskeeper at the site for 17 years now, Nate is no stranger to early starts:  on snowfall days he’s the guy out shoveling in morning darkness to make sure hospital property is safely cleared and salted before anyone arrives.  His to-do list for the rest of the day, depending on the season, includes planting, weeding, raking, more watering, mowing and more shoveling for a hospital building that fills a city block.

Outdoorsy by nature, he loves his job.  It’s solitary work but he’s always thinking about how it affects others.  In the current heat wave he frets a little that “my flowers” aren’t coming along as usual, something that bugs him because he believes patients need to see something “nice” when they come for their visit:  “That way, they feel a bit better and know that this hospital cares for them. That’s our mission.”

At the entrance used by hospital employees during COVID-19 he’s rooting for the alyssum and geraniums to perk up because they help brighten people’s day.  Just up the street, though, are two bench-lined planters spilling over with healthy, brilliantly green hostas that he planted a few years ago to create a tiny green space for staff to take a break.

“I take a lot of pride in my work,” he says, “because the grounds are the first thing people experience when they come to our HDH site.  Sometimes I’m the first staff member they see, so I say ‘hello’ to everyone.  I’m probably smiling, too.  That’s because I have a great job.”