Akron Children’s nurse Sarah Ballentine receives 2026 Faces of Care award

Sarah Ballentine of Newton Falls, Ohio, grew up loving to help others and take care of them. She knew she wanted a career in healthcare. Today, she is a staff nurse in the Akron Children’s Hematology and Oncology inpatient unit. She is also the latest Akron Children’s recipient of the Faces of Care award, an annual nursing recognition program.

About the award

The Faces of Care award – presented by Cleveland Magazine and the Ohio League for Nursing – celebrates practicing nurses, lifetime achievement awardees, nursing educators and students throughout northeast Ohio. Nominations are submitted through major Ohio health systems and the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association.

Sarah and her fellow 2026 honorees received recognition June 20 at the Faces of Care Gala. The award recipients, their colleagues and guests enjoyed dinner, the awards ceremony and dancing.

About Sarah

She has worked on the Akron Children’s Hematology and Oncology inpatient unit for five years. Before that, she spent a year and a half working with medical/surgical and oncology patients at an adult hospital.

“I was influenced and inspired by personal challenges that drew me to the oncology world,” she said. “I knew I always wanted to do oncology, but wasn’t sure about pediatrics until the covid pandemic. That’s when I left the adult facility where I worked and joined Akron Children’s.”

Working the overnight shift on the unit, Sarah creates the best care plan possible while including the patients and their families. “I try to make their difficult experience more pleasant while providing them with compassionate care,” she said. “I always have to be prepared for the unexpected with these patients because they are incredibly fragile.”

Sarah enjoys establishing trust, building relationships and making an impact on patients and their families. She celebrates treatment milestones with them, and she mourns when nothing more can be done. “Sometimes, standard treatment, clinical trials or even research therapies still aren’t enough to get patients into remission,” she said. “We fall short because a true cure for cancer doesn’t exist yet, and that’s the most challenging part of my job.”

When Sarah needs to recharge, she counts on her family and fellow Hematology and Oncology nurses. “My co-workers are the only ones who truly understand what we go through. We have a really great team on night shift, and we support each other very well,” she said. “I also enjoy spending time with my family and doing any kind of outdoor activity. I love being outside in the sunshine in the summer.”

Sarah displays her award – surrounded by colleagues Stephanie Williams, Alissarh Choujaa, Jill Cirese and Chris Young.

About Sarah’s nomination

When Sarah found out she earned Faces of Caring recognition and would be representing Akron Children’s at the 2026 ceremony, she felt shocked and surprised. “My manager came in early. Everyone from my shift stayed over, so she could tell me in the break room,” she said. “I genuinely felt recognized and appreciated.” 

Alissarh Choujaa, clinical coordinator on the Hematology and Oncology unit, nominated Sarah for the award. “Alissarh served as a preceptor when I first started at Akron Children’s,” Sarah shared. “She helped to shape me into the nurse I am today.”

Alissarh nominated Sarah for being a “fantastic advocate” for patients and their families. “Sarah’s expertise and knowledge about her specialty help to calm not only her patients, but her colleagues,” she said. “She is a caring, thoughtful and reliable nurse who is willing to think outside the box to help deliver the best possible care to patients. Truly, she embodies what it means to be a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse. She is a bright light to her patients, families and colleagues.”

Stephanie, Jill, Alissarh and Ashley Gies celebrate Sarah (center).

‘Among the most rewarding things in my life’

Sarah loves her job, her co-workers and the families she cares for. “Everyone thinks that working in pediatric oncology is ‘so sad,’ and they ask how I do it,” she said. “But it’s been among the most rewarding things in my life. These patients and families are at the lowest, most stressful and vulnerable parts of their lives. I’m glad that I’m able to make a difference whether that’s a hug, smile, joke, hot coffee and snack or even just being present for them.”

“Everyone’s journey is different,” she continued, “and I’m just thankful to be a part of it.”