Nashville State Grad Finds Purpose in Dickson County ER

What is often a patient’s worst day is just another workday for frontline healthcare workers. These professionals must blend technical expertise, compassion, and composure under immense pressure.

Dalton Newberry is one of those workers.

Raised in Dickson County, Newberry now works as a nurse in the emergency room of TriStar Horizon Medical Center in Dickson.

He attended a local four-year institution right after high school but left before graduating and joined the hospitality industry, eventually focusing on managing catering events for a local restaurant.

Like many, though, when the pandemic happened, he faced a shortage of work and decided to make a change.

“I was living with a good friend who was a nurse in the Vanderbilt ER, and doing that was always in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do,” Newberry said. “So instead of sitting and not doing anything, I decided to take some classes (at Nashville State) and see where I was at.” 

Once he started back, Newberry saw that most of his credits had transferred, and he was able to apply and enroll in the nursing program at Nashville State Community College’s School of Health Sciences after completing a few last prerequisites.

“The first year was rough. It was all brand new to me. The second year got better,” Newberry said. “I relied a lot on my professors.”

During a nurse externship at Tristar Horizon, Newberry says it all came together for him.

“When I was able to get in there and get in the emergency room, that’s where I knew this is what I want to do," Newberry said. "I would have never done that without the support of my professors.”

Now in his third year in the ER at TriStar Horizon, Newberry says teamwork is critical to the successful care of patients.

“It takes a good team and having the support of the people around you.”

In October of last year, Newberry was able to apply all his technical training, life experience, and the teamwork of the ER to care for a young patient named Colin.

Colin was brought in with trouble breathing, and the team at TriStar went to work. Newberry was able to focus on Colin, keeping his mother informed every step of the way, and helping them through this medical emergency.

“It takes a good team to be able to help focus on the patient,” Newberry said. “I couldn’t sit there with Colin and help keep his mom updated if it wasn’t for the other nurses helping and working a little harder to take care of the other patients.  My co-workers are truly like family. It’s such a team effort.”

After providing the first line of care for Colin, he was airlifted to another hospital, where he recovered. The experience with Newberry and the Horizon ER team has been life-changing.

In a Facebook post, Colin’s mother shared the story and the impact Newberry had on her son, even leading Colin to dress as Newberry for a “Dress Like Your Hero Day” at his school.

Stories like Dalton’s drive home the importance of educating the next generation of healthcare workers for the teachers and administrators of the Nashville State Nursing program.

“The compassion and calm Dalton brought to a terrifying night for this family is exactly the kind of impact we hope our graduates have in the world,” Donna Whitehouse, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Nashville State, said. “We are incredibly proud that Dalton is a graduate of our program.”

It was recently announced that Nashville State’s under-construction Dickson campus at the Dickson County Center for Higher Education will be an instructional side for its Nursing program. Until the campus opens in August 2026, the program’s classes will be held at TriStar Horzion Medical Center.

For Newberry and the rest of the staff in the ER at TriStar Horizon, they continue working together to provide the best care possible for their patients. And, through all the medical emergencies they may face, professionals like Dalton Newberry are there to help you through it.

“I want to make patients feel comfortable, I try to let them know that ‘I know this is bad, but you’re a person and I’m going to take care of you.’” Newberry said. “The message I want them to know is I’m working hard for you.”

Photos courtesy of TriStar Horizon Medical Center