How an Actors’ Playhouse actress and a Miami firefighter pivoted to nursing

All the world was once a stage for Yekaterina Ilina, a registered nurse at Baptist Health’s South Miami Hospital.

“Sometimes I have to sing to the patients and sometimes I have to dance,” said Ilina, 52, who specializes in bedside nursing. “Because movement is very important, especially with the patients who had surgeries and do not want to move from the bed.”

Affectionately known as “Katya,” Ilina is a medical-surgical nurse, or a nurse who cares for patients preparing for or recovering from surgery.

Singing to patients who may not be alert calms them, Ilina said. Her songs transcend language as she sings in her native Russian.

Debuted at Actors’ Playhouse

Her success in nursing doesn’t surprise those who worked with her at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables.

“She is a very strong, caring and lovely lady,” said David Arisco, artistic director of Actors’ Playhouse. “She studied at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow, and she had a significant resume and a bunch of plays.”

In 2007, Arisco recalled how Ilina, going by her stage name Katya Ilina, made her Actors’ Playhouse debut in the play, The Boy From Russia, written by Miami playwright Susan Westfall and which premiered at the Gables theater. She played the part of a Russian translator, Svetlana Lubskaya, assigned to help an American couple adopt a child in Russia. Not only did she have adoption experience, but she could read between the lines in the parts of the script that were in Russian, Arisco said.

In her review of the play, then-Miami Herald theater critic Christine Dolen wrote, Ilina was “a kind of wise-yet-crafty earth mother as translator...”

“Actors tend to be people who have a good work ethic and work hard in whatever craft they choose,” Arisco said.

He foresees Ilina excelling in the healthcare field since she has innate people skills and “knows how to play roles.” And one of her biggest roles occurred during the pandemic.

“Our floor for almost 14 months was a COVID unit,” said Ilina, who described wearing a hazmat-type suit, face shield, and assisting patients on breathing machines. “We will never be the same. If you want to celebrate something, celebrate now. You have to live now.”

Moved into nursing after her divorce

Ilina pivoted to nursing from her acting career after her family life changed. Nursing is among the top careers in terms of job growth, with nursing shortages across the country due to a wave of retirements among baby boomer nurses.

“I got divorced and have four kids and it seems I will be living in America, and I decided that I have to think about a career that I want to do,” Ilina said. “I decided to become a nurse because I knew that I will find a job and I like to help people.”

Ilina credits her co-workers with her successful switch into nursing. Just like the theater, where everyone works together for the success of the performance, hospital workers join together to ensure their patients’ success. The key difference is there is no script and hospital performances run non-stop.

“You cannot do this alone,” Ilina said.

Ilina’s decision to switch from acting to nursing is not that unusual, say nursing experts. There are an estimated 4 million registered nurses in the United States and registered nurses are among the top occupation job-growth categories through 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections, 2019-2029. The Bureau projects 175,900 openings for RNs annually through 2029.

“One reason for the shortage of nurses is retirement, as the mean age for registered nurses has been around 40-50 years old,” said Joy Longo, an assistant dean and professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.

City of Miami firefighter/part-time nurse

To hire more nurses, hospitals are getting creative.

Take Jorge Gallegos, an RN who works part time in the emergency department at South Miami Hospital.

“I wanted to be an attorney,” said Gallegos, 37, a Mexican-American who dreamed of helping migrant farm workers in Homestead navigate the immigration maze.

This dream was dashed, he said, by a community college professor who told Gallegos he could not afford it.

“Law school is very expensive, the professor told me,” Gallegos said. “Over one hundred grand.”

His quixotic desire to help others was rekindled when he enrolled at Miami Dade College’s Fire Academy shortly after the 2008 recession.

“I paid my way through EMT (emergency medical technician) school and during my first ride along, we had a cardiac arrest,” Gallegos said. “We brought her back and a light switch turned on. This was another way for me to help people.”

Gallegos completed both the EMT and paramedic programs, and then enrolled in a “bridge” nursing program to become a nurse. He started his nursing career at Homestead Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida, in 2014.

In 2015, he landed a job with the City of Miami Fire Department, where he is a firefighter at Station 5, 1200 NW 20th St. in Allapattah.

When he became a full-time firefighter, he pivoted to part-time nurse. Since 2019, he has been at South Miami Hospital, where he is a part-time RN in the emergency department.

Gallegos has “never turned his back on nursing and has maintained both roles seamlessly,” said Baptist spokeswoman Gina Halley-Wright.

Nursing/firefighting are intertwined

During the pandemic, Gallegos said he was quarantined and did not see his wife or children for “about six to eight weeks” since he worked two front-line jobs where he was at risk of contracting COVID. Nursing and firefighting are intertwined, he recalled, as he has served everyone from “homeless to millionaires.”

His mission statement — both as a nurse and fire fighter — focuses on a simple phrase his father, from Matamoros, Mexico, has etched into his heart: “Echele ganas.” In Spanish, this means “give it all you got.”

Gallegos said his penchant to serve was borne from humble roots. He described how his father sold CDs at the flea market and how his mother worked at a packing house in Florida City.

“Don’t be like me, be better than me,” Gallegos recalled his father saying.

Last year, Gallegos’ efforts were validated after a patient anonymously nominated him for a DAISY award, which stands for “Disease Attacking the Immune System.” The international award honors “the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day.”

The DAISY pin on his emergency room nurse badge reminds him that his chosen career ladders are callings that underscore service and responsibility. And just like the pedals of a daisy, Gallegos said his co-workers are part of the flower.

Gallegos said he is honored to be part of the “pineapple,” Baptist Health’s nickname and logo.

“It’s the unknowing of what walks in the door on a moment’s notice,” Gallegos said. “As soon as they come in, it’s time to work.”

“Firefighters, nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other health care workers share a common trait,” said retired Hialeah Fire Chief Mike McCann, who oversaw Miami Dade College’s Fire Science program when Gallegos attended. “They all have the desire to help people and compassion for their situations, especially, at their worst time.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM.