June 25, 2025
Eleanor (Nora) Bruning, her daughter Marilyn Albers and granddaughter Marcy Cwiklewich all worked as registered nurses at the Glenrose rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton. As Marcy celebrates 35 years of service at the Glenrose this year, she reflects on how the pursuit of a health career in rehab nursing was inspired by the desire to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. Supplied.
The Glenrose Provincial General Hospital was officially opened on Aug. 14, 1964, as a new provincial hospital for specialized rehabilitation. Today, the 244-bed facility provides specialized physical rehabilitation and therapeutic services to patients of all ages and is a leader in cutting-edge rehabilitation technology development, research and innovation and academic teaching. Supplied.
Story by Sharman Hnatiuk
EDMONTON — When Marcy Cwiklewich started working as a registered nurse (RN) at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in 1995, she walked the halls alongside her mother and in the footsteps of her grandmother before her, becoming the third generation of RNs in her family to work at the facility.
“When I started my career, I worked with people who had also worked with my grandmother,” says Cwiklewich. “I would hear stories of how funny she was. I never knew her in a work setting but her sense of humour could be quite brash, so I can only imagine how she made people laugh on the unit.”
When Cwiklewich’s mother started at the Glenrose in 1969, she recalls giving her shift report at 11 p.m. to her own mother Nora, who was station 11 head nurse on permanent evenings.
“Her teammates and other staff would call her ‘Ma Bruning’ and share tales about fun times with her as a leader and a teammate,” says Marilyn Albers. “She truly had a special way about her that captivated the attention of people she worked with and patients she cared for.”
Over the course of a 25-year nursing career, Albers made many memories and received accolades at the Glenrose, including the years she took off to raise Marcy and her two siblings.
Following her return to the Glenrose, Albers transitioned into teaching and educational roles, and made a foray into the first infection prevention and control position at the site.
“In 1993, the Glenrose was home to the very first case of vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) in Canada,” says Albers. “As an infection control nurse, I was directly involved in managing the nursing and hospital procedures around VRE. Looking back, we were pioneering how to deal with emerging infection control-related issues, protocols and procedures with prevalent organisms in hospitals.”
As the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital celebrates 60 years of innovation and care, Cwiklewich enjoys a family legacy at the site almost as long as that milestone.
This year, Cwiklewich celebrates 30 years of service at the Glenrose, a fact that fills her with incredible pride.
“For me, working in rehab medicine at the Glenrose became a family affair,” she adds. “Working here you get the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients — that feels so unique to the Glenrose.
“Working here, being the third in the my family to do so, is a real privilege.”
