02/28/2026
Meet Sarah Watson
I grew up between Chester and Byron, graduated high school from Thayer Central and then pursued a life I was unsure of… dipped into cosmetology, radiology, and early childhood education - none which felt perfect and I ended up working briefly for a large auctioneer company in Lincoln working with finances. During that time, I had a young daughter and a husband who encouraged me to want more in life.. moving back to this area in 2008 and being close to my family was important.
I began in long term care in 2009 as a medication aide working in Hebron under the direction of Michelle, who is now Kingswood Courts fearless owner. Within a couple of months, I had some spare time and drew personalized placemats for each resident, at breakfast they were so appreciative and almost every resident brought that little project back to their apartment. (Moment #1)
Michelle was always an inspiration to me, someone whose empathy and compassion radiated any room she walked into. I had a number of residents who encouraged me to go into nursing and Dec 10, 2010 an influential resident met Jesus and I decided right then and there to go back to school (moment #2)
Ask anyone, nursing school is hard - especially because at this time I had a 3 year old and one year old twins… so I took a step away from working in long term care and worked for an amazing well drilling company that gave me their support in any career decision- they were flexible with my schedule and taught me so much more than irrigation parts- they taught me leadership and family connection doesn’t always mean blood. I worked for them on and off until 2021 (in a round about way they were moment #3)
In those years between:
I said goodbye to my great grandma Ella Kuhlmann (pictured) with my daughter who was 5 at the time. She lived to be 99 and did not “suffer” from dementia because in this picture she hugged a 5 year old me- it opened my eyes to the fact that simple moments can create a spark.. while it was difficult and selfish of me to see my great grandma “ooh and aww” over my daughter (instead of me) calling her by my name, it created such a happiness in me knowing the memories we had when I was little brought her comfort towards the end of her life. She passed a few months after this picture. (Moment #4)
In 2013 I graduated from scc with my licensed practical nursing degree.
In 2016 I graduated with my associates degree in long term care administration (also from scc)
I recieved my assisted living administrator license in 2017.
In my journey to get my LNHA (licensed nursing home administrator) license, It’s a requirement to do an Administrator in training program. I did this in the winter of 2017 and my preceptor Barb is forever in my hearts as one of the most amazing women I’ll ever meet.
In 2018, I sat for the NAB (nursing administrator boards) and through prayers and tears, passed on my first try and began working as a nursing home administrator.
I recieved my bachelors in healthcare management from Bellevue in 2018 and ended my education getting my Masters in Gerontology in 2022. A few additional noteworthy trainings are: Im a certified dementia practitioner and a graduate from Stagen Leadership Academy, NHCA Lead class 6, and a graduate from Leadership Hastings.
Prior coming to Kingswood Court, I worked at the Heritage at College View in Hastings and have forever been moved by amazing ownership and leadership.
I currently sit on two committees for Nebraska Healthcare Association/Nebraska Assisted Living Association and this last year began serving on the board through NHCA/NALA representing region 2.
So to sum up my whys:
Go to our page, what you see are smiles, what you see is life worth living, it’s the little moments that make such a HUGE impact.
I won’t tell you everything was easy and I never expected it to be… but it’s always 💯 worth it.
Pictured is my husband: Tyler Watson, and children JaeLynn (18), and Pierce and Lilyana (16).
My husband and I are in the final process of becoming foster parents. I’ve been very active in our church as a youth leader and have lead a sermon.
My favorite sports are volleyball, softball and football (especially the Detroit Lions).
I love spending time with my family: both of my parents still live on the farm I grew up on, my brother lives less than a mile from them and my sister and her family live close in Kansas.
I’m an open book and love getting to know people and their stories. My biggest career ah ha moment was realizing it’s okay to admit mistakes- we all make them and we all grow from them.
https://youtu.be/UI_r0mOaLY4?si=sFRw4exuXBS3hFF0
