It\u2019s been over 40 years since the Bears last won the Super Bowl, dominating New England, 46-10, on Jan. 26, 1986.<\/p>\n
Oak Forest resident Lea Good was already four years into her lengthy career as a nurse at Advocate Health Care when Jim McMahon rushed for two touchdowns and defensive tackle William \u201cThe Refrigerator\u201d Perry scored on a 1-yard run as the Bears set records for largest victory margin, most points scored and fewest rushing yards allowed while overwhelming the Patriots.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn June, it will be 45 years here,\u201d said Good, who works at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. \u201cI believe I started June 26, 1981. And at that point I was a nursing assistant. I went to nursing school here and then became a nurse and have been doing this ever since, first in adult rehab and then assistant manager and then came to ortho for 36 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lifelong Bears fan, Good was recognized in January at Soldier Field before the NFC divisional playoff game against the Rams as a special guest during the Bear Down Flag Ceremony. She helped unfurl a giant flag during pregame introductions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an overwhelming experience to go to the game, even the day after we were still at an all-time high,\u201d Good said. \u201cIt had been 30-some years ago that I last went to a game. I couldn\u2019t believe it until I was there. As a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, this was an unforgettable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good, a mentor to countless nurses and a champion for the patient experience, is Advocate Health Care\u2019s 2025 Nurse of the Year. She was selected from among more than 10,000 nurses across that company.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very overwhelming when I had first gotten it because to me, it\u2019s just doing my work and I love what I do,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I didn\u2019t think it was anything extra special, but it\u2019s nice to be very well recognized for everything you do and put into it. Educating patients has been a favorite for me, and I work with a wonderful team. Everybody is so good at what they do which makes it a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an orthopedic nurse navigator, the Oak Forest resident has developed and advanced her role on the hospital\u2019s inpatient orthopedic floor, getting patients moving soon after surgery and leading interdisciplinary efforts to enhance recovery, streamline discharge and improve outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur patients start the education about going home when they get here,\u201d Good said. \u201cThe days are really short now and I\u2019m a big fan of mobility. Years ago we were so tight for beds so by the time they got up here, we wanted to get them off the cart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good\u2019s been motivating her patients for the last four decades.<\/p>\n
![\"Lea](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/STA-L-lea-good-bears-0208-01_259081698.jpg\")
Lea Good, of Oak Forest, a longtime nurse at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, was on hand Jan. 18 for the Chicago Bears playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field, taking part in pregame festivities as Advocate Health Care\u2019s 2025 Nurse of the Year. (Advocate Health Care)<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually said we\u2019re going to walk you off the cart to your room and patients have been very positive,\u201d she said. \u201cThe outcome is something they are surprised they can do as well as they do. It makes them feel like it was all worth what they went through.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone walks off the cart after surgery and if they can\u2019t walk \u2026 it\u2019s usually because of anesthesia,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they do end up walking. Everybody is up on post-op day zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Bears playoff game versus the Rams, an improbable game-tying Caleb Williams to Cole Kmet TD pass will long stand out, despite the fact that the Bears still lost.<\/p>\n
But the season was more than a single play, it\u2019s the optimism that it brings. No doubt, the future is bright with Williams and coach Ben Johnson, Good said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was heartbroken, especially after the catch by Kmet, but the good thing about all of it is the fans didn\u2019t boo afterward,\u201d she said. \u201cThey applauded for them for as well as they did for the season and if they all continue to stay and work together they will make a great team for Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the future\u2019s bright for Da Bears as it is for Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody keeps asking me when I\u2019m going to retire,\u201d she said. \u201cActually, at this point I still continue wanting to do what I want to do. I love what I do. This is not coming to work and I remember the day I walked in this door and it feels like yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lea](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/STA-L-lea-good-bears-0208-03.jpg\")
Lea Good, of Oak Forest, center, Advocate Health Care\u2019s 2025 Nurse of the Year for her work at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, helps bring a giant flag onto onto the field at Soldier Field along with Ashley Vilona, left, Advocate Health Care\u2019s 2025 Nurse Leader of the Year, and others Jan. 18 for the Chicago Bears playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in Chicago. (Advocate Health Care)<\/p>\n
Good\u2019s fandom can be traced to her teen years, watching some mediocre teams in the late 70s and early 80s before being rewarded by the \u201985 team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a big fan of that whole team from 1985 and Walter Payton was everyone\u2019s favorite, absolutely,\u201d she said. \u201cI think I started watching the Bears probably in high school. My husband was a big Bears fan as well. I went with him once to a game and it was exciting as well, but it was much warmer out. Watching the Bears was always something we just did every weekend. Constantly watching the game with friends and family, I got to know a lot and learned a lot from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
C.R. Walker is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been over 40 years since the Bears last won the Super Bowl, dominating New England, 46-10, on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":734144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,106042,11963,106043,692,391,106044,2493,18167,82360,106056,106045,7,106046,1147,13604,106047,1682,4247,106048,106049,106050,88,6,85443,106051,106052,106053,9,106054,106055],"class_list":["post-734143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-bears","tag-bears","tag-blue-island","tag-business","tag-calumet-city","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-bears","tag-chicago-heights","tag-chicagobears","tag-cook-county","tag-country-club-hills","tag-daily-southtown","tag-dolton","tag-football","tag-frankfort","tag-harvey","tag-health","tag-homer-glen","tag-illinois","tag-local-news","tag-lockport","tag-markham","tag-mokena","tag-news","tag-nfl","tag-oak-lawn","tag-orland-park","tag-palos-heights","tag-palos-hills","tag-sports","tag-tinley-park","tag-will-county"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/734144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}