Heppner named Outstanding Nurse in Billings

Melissa Heppner is more than happy that she recently won the Billings Clinic Friends of Nursing Outstanding Nurse Award, even if she thinks someone else should have won it.

"I don't think I deserve it," she said on Saturday, "but it is a great honor."

Heppner, a 2008 graduate of Malta High School and the daughter of Steven and Joan Heppner, won the award in May after two of her colleagues -- CeCe Castro and Sara Anguiano – nominated her for the award. In the nomination that her two co-workers submitted, Heppner's participation in the Get Up and Go program and her work in Ethiopia, Africa were but a few of the highlights.

"Get Up and Go is one of the programs at the Hospital we offer to patients," Heppner said. "The longer you are in the hospital, and not moving very much, the more you lose strength. So the program helps them regain their strength when they go back home and back to their regular lifestyle."

Away from the Billings Clinic, Heppner has volunteered her time to travel to Africa in a partnership with the Grace Bible Church in Bozeman in order to travel to Ethiopia where the team opens a medical clinic twice per year.

"I have been there twice and I am going back in October," Heppner said. "Ethiopia is just a whole other world. The people there are really friendly and joyful even though they don't have nearly the conveniences that we do here. They love to share, even though they don't have very much."

Heppner said the clinic set up in Ethiopia offers patients a lot of antibiotic medications and treat a lot of children for colds and ear infections.

"The amount of regular health care they lack is pretty intense," she added. "We take a lot of things for granted here."

After graduating from Malta, Heppner Montana State in Bozeman and earned le and I knew I wanted to be able to do something where I could love people and help them heal. I wanted to be able to help them for Christ and God too, so I figured nursing was the way to go."

As for returning home to Malta to continue her career as a nurse, Heppner said that she wasn't planning on it anytime soon as she has grown to enjoy her current living situation.

"I like Billings a lot," Heppner said. "I like how it still has that small town feel but it also has a lot of amenities as far as stores and it has a lot of Health Care amenities as well."

Even though she isn't ready to return to Malta to live and work, she did say that the city and its residents helped form who she is today and for that she is very thankful.

"I really appreciate Malta and all the opportunities people there gave me," Heppner said. "Even though I moved there when I was 15 and people didn't know me, they really helped me to reach my goals. I really appreciate that."

For being named Billings Clinic Friends of Nursing Outstanding Nurse in 2015, Heppner received an honorary plaque as well as a stipend for educational purposes. She added that she has had her eye on a few health conferences she has been wanting to attend and she would most likely use the stipend to attend a few of the gatherings.