For 100 days, he was a hospital patient. Ever since, his mission is to thank nurses

It might be free coffee and a bagel on their way to work.

Or a surprise doughnut at shift change.

Once, it was a chocolate bar, and some lucky winners unwrapped a “golden ticket” for a gift card.

But, really, this story is full of winners.

Andy Kontz is a real estate agent who doubles as the organizer of the Sioux Falls Nurses Facebook page, a community of 2,000 area nurses and those who support them.

This has been going on since way before the pandemic, by the way.

Kontz started it three years ago, focusing on thanking nurses in the city in all areas — from both major hospital systems and in smaller clinics.

It began with an event every other month to give free coffee to nurses. Since the pandemic, there have been more meals, treats and other thank-yous for nurses citywide.

“Sometimes, the donations that we get in the form of food are the difference between whether you have lunch or not,” said Sara Spartz, an ICU nurse at Avera McKennan.

Then, Kontz took it a step further, branding his real estate practice a “nurse-focused” team, with perks for nurses such as flexible showing times, text alerts and personalized house hunting.

He even gives them back a portion of his commission toward their down payment or closing costs.

Why he does it

There’s always a why.

Why does a real estate agent suddenly decide to make nurses the focus of so much effort?

It’s because this one is also a passionate former patient.

In November 2013, Kontz was feeling sick and thought he might have the flu. When he went into the emergency room, he found out the issue was with his bone marrow. He had leukemia.

That began a 100-day hospital stay and led to a bone marrow transplant.

The time showed him just how much work nurses do, all the hoops they jump through and their commitment to patients day in and day out.

“You don’t realize until you get sick what nurses do,” Kontz said. “They are so underappreciated.”

He started the Sioux Falls Nurses page in 2017 as a way to celebrate nurses and give back. The goal is to do something at least every month, from cookie giveaways to doughnut drop-offs to donated meals.

Once COVID-19 arrived, Kontz transitioned the free coffee events to a coffee drive-thru. Pre-pandemic, the most nurses he had registered for one event was 250. By November, he saw more than 530 nurses register.

“It’s just nice to have a little thank-you every now and then,” said Katie Eeten, an ER and ICU nurse at Sanford Health. “Not always are we getting thanked for what we do.”

Kontz’s efforts also caught the attention of a national real estate coaching group, leading him to speak at national conventions and assist in writing an e-book to help others run similar events for nurses nationwide.

“It’s blossomed into something I never intended it to,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get this to kind of turn viral so nurses throughout the U.S. can benefit.”

Know a nurse that should follow the Sioux Falls Nurses page? Forward this story, and they can find it here.