Pilot Media - National Nurses Week 2015

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Sara Pickett joined the Navy straight out of nursing school to gain experience and leadership skills. “I thought I’d put in four years and then get out,” she says. That was 20 years ago and Pickett, now a Commander, can’t imagine

doing anything else.“I still vividly recall the first time I heard the national anthem

when I was in uniform,” she says. “I can’t even describe what that meant. And there are still times today when the national anthem plays and I stand at attention and the hairs on my arms raise because of the impact I feel we’re making.

“This can sound trite and not everybody is going to get it, but it’s knowing that I have the opportunity to care for the people who go out and fight for our freedoms, who put their lives on the line for our liberties, and I have the privilege of taking care of their families.”

Pickett has patched up patients in Fallujah, Iraq, and taught young sailors to be hospital corpsmen in Great Lakes, Mich. She’s nursed Haitian earthquake victims on a humanitarian mission and delivered babies in Okinawa, Japan, “Including the first two sets of triplets born in the Pacific Rim,” she notes with a smile. The list of lives she’s saved – well, she’s stopped counting.

“All I know is when I wake up, I want to go to work,” she says. “I’m still in the Navy because I love it.”

Lt. Commander Eve Poteet is equally passionate about her career as a Navy nurse. Poteet found plenty to do when she was medically retired from the Navy in her early 30s, but something was missing. “I worked for Edmarc Hospice for Children and the pediatric ICU at CHKD, and then I accepted a position as patient care supervisor at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital,” she says. “I loved what I did, but I missed my Navy – the honor, the courage, the commitment – and I wanted to be back.”

Poteet knew her medical issue had been a temporary one and a Medical Evaluation Board agreed. “I was found fit for duty,” she says, and soon back in uniform where she belonged.

“We all have the same technology, whether military and civilian, but what’s truly different in the military is the level of gratitude from

the service members and families you take care of,” she says. Even, ultimately, those patients who begin as a challenge.

“I walked into the room of one young man who was yelling at me through a curtain,” Poteet says, “asking if I knew anything about his illness. I assured him I had a pretty good knowledge of it and he said okay, I guess you can take care of me. And out from behind the curtain pops a 20-something marine who had been medevaced from Afghanistan. He’s one of those patients who almost died on me a few times, and he had some loss involved in his disease process, but we spent a lot of time together talking about his life in the marines, trying to build something and restore hope for the future.”

Skill, persistence and empathy paid off. “Today he’s alive and kicking,” says Poteet. “You hate for anyone to get wounded at any time, but now with how far we’ve come with military medicine, we’re at a better place than ever.”

Pickett dealt firsthand with war injuries in Fallujah, Iraq, when she deployed with a Marine shock trauma platoon. “When someone

would come in, we’d recover them, do the initial resuscitation in the trauma bay, then get them into the OR,” she says. “In the OR, they’d do what they needed to keep that patient alive, like a lot of the abdominal stuff.” Many times, wounds that would need further attention were stuffed with sterile towels rather than closed. “We’d wrap the patient with a sterile plastic that looks like Saran Wrap,” describes Pickett.

If it was cold, the patient was often placed in a body bag. “When we packaged them in body bags, it helped retain heat,” says Pickett, “but we had to learn to put a red cross on the bag and explain to the marines that that person was not dead,” she adds.

“At this point the patient is still on a ventilator and not fully recovered from the anesthesia. We’d place them in the back of an ambulance Humvee,

head to the landing strip and load them onto a helo to get them to the next level of care in Baghdad or someplace like that.”

Pickett monitored patients closely during the short helicopter ride. “There are key things you’re looking at, like are they waking up, do I need to give them more sedation, you’re watching blood pressure,

and checking the ventilator,” she says. Pickett always knew when the helicopter was being fired at because it would suddenly bank. “You can’t hear anything but the helo, but you would feel a roll or maybe the medic would tap you on the shoulder and start to hold the patient too.

“Fallujah was just an awesome experience because we had the best training to be in that situation, and there was such teamwork,” she says. “It was also humbling and one of the biggest changes when I came back is that the little things didn’t bother me anymore.”

Battlefields, hospital labor and delivery units, family clinics – military nurses are trained to thrive in any environment.

“One of the things I like about the military is that your job changes all the time,” says Commander Anne Brown. “People ask what kind of nurse are you and I tell them it’s easier to say what kind of nurse I’m not,” she laughs. “The military is pretty good at making us well-rounded and very diverse in background. And since many practices and policies are handed down from the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, a lot of things are standard. I can pick up and go anywhere in the world and hopefully catch on fairly fast.”

Brown, who has worked at duty stations from Spain to California, got her start as a civilian nurse in Washington, D.C. “So when a young ensign would mention getting out of the Navy after one tour, the senior nurses would send them to me to talk about life in the civilian world. I never tried to talk them out of it because I said the grass isn’t any greener – it’s just a different kind of grass.

“I think one of the biggest differences, though, is the sense of camaraderie and shared mission in the military,” Brown says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re treating a sailor on active duty or helping a family member. I’ve delivered babies and held them up to the camera for dad to see because he’s in Afghanistan. And I really enjoy the retirees. The number of WWII veterans is just plummeting and every chance I get, I sit down and talk with them. Many tell me about a time when a Navy nurse saved their life.”

Brown also feels that military nurses are given more leadership opportunities than their civilian counterparts. “Nurses are commanding officers of hospitals now,” she says. “I’m running three clinics, and that’s not something I could have done as easily as a civilian nurse. When a new nurse comes in, we get them clinically strong and then start pushing leadership on them pretty quickly.”

Military nurses are officers as well as care-givers, and are expected to function well in both roles, says Brown. “I mentor a lot of nurses and remind them they have to find that balance. Today I’ve done a lot of naval officer stuff, but yesterday I was a nurse all day, and you have to be able to be good at both.”

The drawbacks? “Sometimes it’s tough to pick up and move every couple of years,” says Brown. “But we’ve lived all over the

ADVOCATING, LEADING, CARING.

Leaders with aServant’s HeartMilitary Nursesin Command

Continued to page 3

Commander Joshua Nelson, USN, Ret., salutes his daughter, Lt. Commander Eve Poteet, during her promotion ceremony. Poteet, who is enrolled in UVA’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, began her Navy career as a hospital corpsman.

Commander Sara Pickett has delivered babies, taught hospital corpsmen and served with a shock trauma platoon in Fallujah, Iraq. Military nurses are trained to thrive in multiple environments and take on leadership roles wherever they’re stationed.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 | 3SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

A week seems too short to celebrate the

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our nurses provide every day. Their tireless

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Thank you to our nurses.

world, which is pretty cool, and both of my kids speak three languages. When some people find out I was a civilian nurse until I was 30, they ask me if joining the Navy was a good decision. I say it’s the best decision I ever made, hands down.”

Brown does a lot of interviews with perspective Navy nurses, a task she loves. “It’s interesting to hear the reasons they want to join,” she says. “Some come for the educational benefits, which are wonderful. In fact, the military paid for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But there is also a big surge of patriotism going on right now and they have this desire to serve.”

Poteet understands the feeling well. “I’m just so happy to be a part of this,” she says. “On the pediatric unit at Portsmouth, I had this little boy with cystic fibrosis, and I was trying to figure out how to get some enzymes in him. He threw up all over me and kept apologizing. I told him it’s okay, that’s what I’m here for. He said, “But it’s your uniform.’ I said, “Look, don’t worry about it, I’m in the Navy whether I’m wearing this uniform or not.’”

For most military nurses, it’s not just a job – it’s a calling and a way of life.

It was supposed to be an uneventful mosey from Naval Station Norfolk to San Diego aboard the newly overhauled USS Carl Vinson. Commander Sara Picket, RN-

MSN, was assigned to the aircraft carrier as ship’s nurse.

“We weren’t fully loaded since the carrier was just making a homeport change, but we had all the supplies we needed to get to San Diego,” says Pickett. “We were preparing to leave when we got the call – there had been an earthquake in Haiti.” The carrier was ordered to the island to support earthquake recovery efforts and supply potable water.

“Initially we weren’t going to bring patients aboard because we weren’t really equipped for that,” says Pickett. But the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy, two fully-functioning floating hospitals the Navy deploys on humanitarian missions, weren’t

there and the Carl Vinson was. The Navy’s can-do mentality quickly took over.

“The first patient we took in was a missionary who had been buried in the rubble,” recalls Pickett. “His legs had been amputated and he was on a ventilator. They brought him down the weapons elevator, we stabilized him and sent him off for next level care.” Even with an unpracticed team, it went like clockwork, she says.

“Next was a missionary whose spleen had ruptured, then a Coast Guard helo brought in more patients, including a new mom with an ortho injury and her 2-hour old infant,” Pickett says. “There was a 12-year-old with a skull fracture, we had multiple crush injuries to treat, infections, limb amputations that had to be cleaned up, and we couldn’t speak the language.”

Several Haitian-speaking sailors were quickly drafted as nurse’s aides/translators. “Everyone was willing to pitch in,” says Pickett.

As the makeshift trauma center swelled with casualties, long hours stretched even longer and Pickett scrambled to plug knowledge gaps among her team. “I only had three IV pumps, but we were hanging lots of IVs and IV antibiotics, so I taught them how to calculate drip rates,” she says.

The blood bank was activated, washcloths became diapers and parachute material was transformed into baby shirts, Pickett says. “After five days, the USNS Comfort got there and we medevaced our patients to them.”

Sixty lives saved, no deaths. “It was extremely challenging, but we just all truly came together, adapted, and made it work with what we had. I love that about the Navy.”

Commander Sara Pickett holds a newborn aboard the USS Carl Vinson during humanitarian outreach efforts after the 2010 Haitian earthquake. The baby was named Vinson in honor of his rescuers.

Continued from page 2

For most military nurses,it’s not just a job –

it’s a calling anda way of life.

Detour Haiti: The USS Carl Vinson Makes a House Call


We have a place for you and your talents on our team.

For more information and to apply, visit www.laketaylor.org

Thank ou!Thank ou!Thank ou!Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital wishes to thank our nurses and medical professionals for working so closely with patients and families to orchestrate care plans that result

in the fastest recovery and best quality of life possible. From the hospital, through rehabilitation and recovery, to the return home - the ultimate goal is to return patients to a productive, healthy lifestyle.

RN - MSN • Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Health

15WINNER

EElysia Edmondson’s beloved border collies relish a

good challenge. It’s a mindset that Edmondson readily relates to – after all, challenge both explains and defines her career as a psych nurse.

Edmondson discovered a knack for interacting with mental health patients during her clinical rotations in nursing school. “For some reason, my patients loved to talk with me,” she says. Her instructor picked up on Edmondson’s unusual affinity for psychiatric nursing. “She urged me to pursue it – so I did,” Edmondson says.

While the fundamentals of nursing are the same in every specialty, psych nurses can be called on to handle some usual situations. Edmondson still recalls the night rioting broke out in one of the units of a residential adolescent treatment facility. “Everyone was pulled in to help on that unit and I was left on my own with ten patients. One young man was very psychotic; he was hearing the codes being called and people rushing down the hallway and he became very agitated. I worked with him for 30 minutes and was able to help him regain control.”

In this field, triumphs are measured just as often in what doesn’t happen as what does.

“When you’re dealing with someone who’s not totally in touch with reality, you have to be calm but

think quickly on your feet,” says Edmondson. Flexibility is important as well.

“Sometimes we have patients who are extremely delusional and they may not be able to walk through our front doors,” she says. Edmondson’s solution? “I go out to them,” she says simply.

“She’s a big advocate for her patients,” says Tracy Johnson, Edmondson’s supervisor. “We deal with their mental health here but they can also have medical issues, and many of them are uninsured or underinsured. I can’t tell you the amount of time Elysia has spent making calls or researching, whether it’s contacting the Lion’s Club for eyeglasses or connecting patients with our city health clinics.”

A gifted educator, Edmondson is often called on to share her expertise, says Johnson. “She does presentations for our staff and some of the other agencies in the city,” including the Chesapeake Police Department.

“It’s not a 9 to 5 job for Elysia,” Johnson adds. “She’s someone who truly cares. Psychiatric nursing is one of the lowest paid areas of nursing you can get into, and this is someone who has gotten her master’s in nursing who could be doing very well financially. She chooses to do community behavioral health because these patients need her.”


At Bon Secours, we recognize our nurses are at the heart of

the compassionate care our ministry gives, which is why we

are honored to celebrate them during National Nurses Week.

Thank you to all of our nurses who spend their days and

nights caring for the rest of us, and for helping Bon Secours

fulfill our mission all year long — to provide good help to

those in need.

To join our nursing team, apply online

at bshr.com/jobs

Maryview | Mary Immaculate | DePaul | Health Center at Harbour ViewMaryview Nursing Care Center | St. Francis Nursing Center

GOODHELP

BEGINSWITH YOU

Financial Aid if Qualified. Accredited School, ACCSC. For Consumer Informationand our Notice of Non-Discrimination, visit www.CenturaCollege.edu.

The first National Nurses Week was celebrated in 1954, the year that marked the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s pioneering nursing efforts in the Crimean War. Although a bill to make National Nurses Week an ongoing event was introduced in Congress, no action was taken.

In 1974, after the International Council of Nurses proclaimed May 12 (Florence Nightingale’s birthday) as International Nurses Day, the White House designated a week in February as National Nurses Week and President Nixon issued a proclamation.

By 1981, the American Nurses Association, joined by other nursing groups, backed an effort to promote “National Recognition Day for Nurses” as an annual celebration. The next year, President Reagan signed a proclamation permanently establishing May 6 for the event.

The day was expanded to a week-long celebration in 1990 by the American Nurses Association, and in 1993, the group formally designated May 6-12 as National Nurses Week.

A History of National

Nurses Week

Florence Nightingale

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At Sentara our nursing team reaches more lives more often as they

embody our mission: To Improve Health Every Day. We know from personal

experience that the extraordinary skill and compassion our nurses

demonstrate not only lift patients — but inspire us all to be better people.

For information about Sentara Healthcare and our Nursing opportunities, visit:

www.sentaracareers.com



At Sentara our nursing team reaches more lives more often as they

embody our mission: To Improve Health Every Day. We know from personal

experience that the extraordinary skill and compassion our nurses

demonstrate not only lift patients — but inspire us all to be better people.




We want to express how special our nurses are to us.

To all our Nurse Professionals,

You touch the lives of thousands of people as members of our team.

Through your compassion, skill, friendship and leadership—you

have touched us as well. Thank you for everything you do, and for the

graceful way in which you do it. — From all of us at Optima Health.

EOE M/F/D/V. Drug FreeWorkplace. Criminal History,Background check. A tobacco-free work environment.

NATIONAL NURSESWEEK | 2015

Learn more at:optimahealthcareers.com

ARN • Sentara Leigh Hospital

Ashley Bishop mangles job descriptions. He doesn’t do it on purpose – it just seems to work out that way. First Bishop masters his list of assigned duties, then begins adding miscellaneous items that catch his attention – import new rounding procedures, increase hand-washing compliance, improve contact precaution signage, co-chair a magnet committee… Soon he’s created a hybridized nurse/idea-instigator position all his own.

It’s Bishop’s way of combining a diverse set of interests with an intense focus on patient safety. One change he prompted is the way his hospital handles contact precaution notices.

“You would see a contact sign at the patient’s door and know you needed a gown and gloves, but you wouldn’t know which type of infection the patient has,” says Bishop. “Well, some infections have to be dealt with differently. If you’re dealing with C. difficile, you must wash your hands when you come out of the room instead of using the hand sanitizer. The sanitizer doesn’t kill the infectious spores. But if you’re a housekeeper or care partner or case coordinator or someone else who doesn’t know the patient’s history, you won’t know to do that. So I proposed that they color code the signs so everyone knows when they must wash their hands instead of using the sanitizer.”

Today, most infections are noted with a green contact precaution sign; the C. diff sign is an instantly identifiable brown. The idea was a simple, but effective one.

Bishop views his primary role as a patient advocate and is quick to ask questions on their behalf. When a Glucommander dosage caught his attention, he flagged it. “The order just didn’t make sense to me,” says Bishop. “I actually paged the doctor.” Sure enough – Bishop was right and the order was corrected.

“As a nurse, that’s your job,” Bishop says. “You’re there with your patient for the whole shift, you notice the small trends, you have to take the initiative. Nursing is constantly changing and it’s moving toward greater influence, which is a good transformation. The nurses who are there in the trenches with the patients have a lot of input, whether it has to do with policy, procedures, or education initiatives. I like the fact that we can share our point of view and be heard.”

Bishop’s passion for getting it right and making it better is clothed in a genuine, down-home friendliness. “He’s very amiable,” says Jo-Marie MacAlpine, a nursing colleague. “He’s always smiling, willing to go the extra mile and all the patients adore him. He’s just an excellent nurse.”

15WINNER


Adams, Loni RN Sentara Leigh Hospital, ICUAlbia, Joy RN, Charge Nurse St. Mary's Home Anol, Glacey D.O.N of Virginia beach

Rosemont Nursing centerBales, Robin RN Mary Immaculate Hospital ORBaybay, Donna RN, Unit Coordinator

Sentara Leigh Hospital, 4 WestBeasley, Patricia (Patty) RN Mary Immaculate

Hospital, Wound Care ClinicBene, Crystal Care Coordinator

Sentara Leigh HospitalBennett, Gina RN, Unit Coordinator

Sentara Leigh Hospital, 1 EastBerry, Mary Fulltime Home Care Nurse

Sentara Home Care- Suffolk BranchBeuttel, William RN Sentara Leigh Hospital Bishop, Ashley RN Sentara Leigh Hospital Blake, Alaina RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

1 EastBradshaw, Theresa LPN Sentara OBICIBrisson, Judy RN, CNOR Maryview Medical

Center, ORBruno, Katie RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

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1 EastBryant, Katherine RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

1 EastBuck, Diane RN Sentara Williamsburg HospitalBurris, Angela Fulltime Home care RN Sentara

Home Care-Suffolk BranchCabanez, Cecilia Manager Sentara Leigh

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Sentara Leigh Hospital, EndoscopyCullen, Sarah Clinical Nurse Specialist

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Immaculate Hospital ORCurtis, Molly RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

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Sentara Leigh Hospital Downing, Genovese LPN Sentara Home HealthEdmondson, Elysia Koren RNMSN,

Psychiatric Nurse Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Health

Evans, Raymanna RN Sentara OBICIEverett, April RN Sentara OBICIFaucette, Debra OR/RN Sentara Williamsburg

Reg Main ORFerebee, Cherrie RN, CLIN II Sentara Leigh

Hostpial, Unit 5EFerguson, Jordan RN Sentara OBICIFisher, Gwen Administrative Nursing

Supervisor Maryview Medical CenterFisher, Mary RN, BSN, Clinical Manager

Sentara Home Care Suffolk BranchFoederer, Maggie RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

1 EastFranklin, Lakeschia RN Sentara OBICIFronteras ,Arlene RN, Unit Coordinator

Sentara Leigh Hospital, 2 WestGary, Angela Clinical Director of Nursing

Chesapeake Regional Medical CenterGillian, Paula RN Sentara OBICIGilroy, Samantha RN Sentara OBICIGozon, Gloria RN, Unit Coordinator

Sentara Leigh Hospital, 4 WestGumpas, Vicky RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

2 EastGwaltney, Bremer RN Sentara OBICIHall, Brenda LPN Sentara OBICIHammond, Melody RN Sentara, BTU

(Burn Trauma ICU)Hapeman, Tabitha RN, Care Coordination

Sentara Leigh Hospital Henrych, Jessica RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

2 WestHixon, Jane Hospice Liason Sentara HospiceHumphreys, Penny RN SEntara OBICIIdul, Valerie RN Sentara Leigh Hospital, 2 WestJimenez, Milagros RN, Charge Nurse

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center- Clinical Decision Unit

Johnson, Joyce LPN Sentara OBICIKolodziej, Hilary RN Bon Secours Maryview

Medical CenterKrom, Gary RN Sentara Leigh Hospital, 2 EastLear, Julie MSN, RN, CCRN, ICCU Nurse

Manager Bon Secours, ICULee, Aileen RN, Unit Coordinator Sentara Leigh

Hospital, 2 WestLynch, Christy RN, BSN, OCN Sentara OBICIMacalpine, Jo-Marie RN Sentara Leigh

Hospital, 4 WestMaccalla, Bettye LPN Sentara OBICI

Manley, Tasha RN Sentara OBICIMatheny, Eve RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

4 WestMejia, Rizza RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

4 WestMitchell, Taneisha MSN, RN, CPHQ,

Administrative Director of Quality & Patient Safety CHESAPEAKE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Moore, Ladonna RN Sentara Leigh Hospital, 2 West

Moreira, Kim-Sun Nurse Manger of Emergency Services Chesapeake Regional Medical Center

Moycomeus, Chit Charge Nurse Chesapeake Regional Medical Center - Clinical Decision Unit

Newberry, Lynn Adminstrator for Professional excellence Mary Immculate Hospital

Nielson, Barbara LPN Sentara, 4 southO'Flaherty, Dawn Hospice Nurse

Sentara HospiceO'Neil, Sharon RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

PACUPeterson, Kelsey RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

2 WestPlante, Tambra RN/Case Manager Sentara

Home Care ServicesPollard, Meghan RN Mary Immaculate

Hospital, 3B MedicalPortillo, Ann RN Sentara Leigh Hospital, ICUPresley-Kelso, Monique RN Sentara OBICIPringle, Terri RN Sentara OBICIQuinn, Health RN Sentara OBICIRaiford, Jennifer RN Sentara OBICIRaymer, Sheila Home Health SN

Suffolk HH offi ceRichendollar, Karen RN Sentara Leigh

Hospital, ICURiddick, Doris RN Lev III SEntara OBICIRockett, Jimmy LPN Nursing Supervisor The

Terrace At Beth Sholom VillageRogers, Cynthia Administrative Director of

Nursing Maryview Medical CenterRoisten-Gregory, Alice RN Maryview Medical

CenterRoten, Holly RN Bon Secours Cardiovascular

Specialists at Harbour ViewRoth, Jacqueline LPN Sentara Pediatric

PhysiciansSarte, Marc RN Sentara Leigh Hospital Sheriff, Bobbie Jo LPN, Primary NurseThe Albero House, at St. Mary's HomeSile, Inel RN Chesapeake Regional Medical

CenterSimon, Jeannine Manager, Intensive Care Unit

Chesapeake Regional Medical CenterSimpson, De'Ja RN Sentara OBICISmith, Brittanie RN Sentara Leigh Hospital

Smith,Viola A. Instructor at TCC and Weekend Navigator at Sentara Home Health Care TCC and Sentara Home Health Care

Sobers, Elisa RN Sentara OBICISteffanelli ,Sheila RN-Heart Failure Nurse

Navigator Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center

Steffens ,Wanda Director of Nursing Sentara Nursing Certer - Windermere

Stone-Jole, Brittany RN Sentara OBICISullivan, Brandi Outcomes Manager Mary

Immaculate HospitalSwantek, Tonya RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

1 West Torres, Darcy Chesapeake Regional Medical

Center- Nursing ResourcesTrapp, Katy RN Sentara Leigh Hospital Tschai, Lesia Assitant Nurse Manager

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center Viado, Perlita RN Sentara Heart Hospital

(4HH Cardiac Stepdown)Ward, Michelle Radiology Nurse DePaul

Medical CenterWarren, Charlita RN Bon Secours,Mother Baby UnitWatson, Donna LPN Sentara OBICIWatson, Susan RN Care Manager Sentara

Medical GroupWelch, Wendy Clinical Coordinator

Chesapeake Regional Medical CenterWest, Andrea Nursing Quality Analyst

Maryview Medical CenterWhitehead, J. Danielle RN Sentara OBICIWhitehurst, Michael RN Chesapeake

Regional Medical CenterWilliams, Connie Sentara OBICIWilliamson, John RN Mary Immaculate

Hospital Interventional Radiology Department

Wooden, Verna RN Sentara OBICIWratchford, Sharon LPN Sentara,

4 South-RehabWyatt, Wanda RN, Hospice House Manager

Sentara Hospice HouseYates, Inez F. LPN, Clinical CoordinatorBon Secours, Care A VanYeager, Linda LPN Medical Temporaries Yeager ,Linda RN Medical Temporaries, Inc.Young, Carlie RN Sentara Leigh Hospital,

Pre-OpYoung, Chantae RN Sentara OBICIZawacki ,Terry RN Maryview Medical Center

Mother Baby Unit

2015 NURSE NOMINATIONS


Thank Youto all of our nurses who make a

difference every day.

EEO employer with great benefi ts

6171 Kempsville Circle6171 Kempsville Circle • Norfolk, VA 23502 • (757) 622-2208 www.saintmaryshome.org

Sentara Healthcare Salutes the hard work ofall of our Nurses and Medical Professionals,

but especially the hard work of our2015 Nurses Week Winners.




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RN • Sentara Leigh Hospital

IIt was October 2014 and Becca Cooper had left her

comfort zone 8600 miles behind her. The small HIV clinic, tucked into a corner of bustling Bangalore, India, harbored poor patients who couldn’t afford healthcare and Cooper was there to help for three weeks.

“It’s a Christian-run clinic and they treat patients with opportunistic infections and offer hospice care,” says Cooper. “There’s also a home for children born with HIV. Many of the kids have been abandoned by their parents or the parents are dead, yet they were so optimistic. My sister and I were able to spend a lot of time with the kids in the evening and work in the clinic during the day. It was very, very challenging, but an amazing experience,” she says.

“There was one young couple and the husband had just been diagnosed with HIV,” recalls Cooper. “He was bed-bound with a tracheotomy and feeding tube, and it was really hard on his wife. I was able to help with his care, listen, and just try and be there for them both.”

Despite a language barrier, nursing skill translates into any culture with an easy fluency and love needs no translation at all.

“She just has a very compassionate spirit,” notes Robin West, clinical manager at Sentara Leigh. “If you

ever have the opportunity to watch her at the bedside with a patient, you just see it, in her caring, the tone of her voice, her body language, she just gives her all to her patients.”

West, who was one of Cooper’s clinical instructors at Tidewater Community College, spotted Cooper’s gift for relating to patients and encouraged her to apply at Sentara Leigh. “When you have that inborn spirit of giving, nursing is an excellent match,” West says.

The family-oriented Cooper juggles nursing with community outreach, church activities and an online RN-to-BSN program. She’d also like to return to the HIV clinic in India one day and travel wherever else her faith takes her. “That experience gave me a greater need to reach out to people and to be involved in different opportunities,” says Cooper.

For now, though, there are plenty of patients at hand to care for, and Cooper especially enjoys her elderly charges. “They know so much about life and it’s important to help them feel their opinions are still important,” says Cooper, who is determined to do just that, one 12-hour shift at a time. It’s the distinctive “Becca Touch,” and her patients love it.

RNs in the United States earn an annual medial wage of $65,470; the top 10% earn more than $94,720. These paychecks would have seemed unimaginable to nurses in 1946 – they earned an average $2,100 a year. By 1966, annual earnings had crept all the way up to $5,200 on average.

~ BLS.gov & healthcarecareers.com

15WINNER

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a hospital environment.

TCC’s 65,000 square-foot Regional Health Professions Center on the Virginia Beach Campus

features 10 innovative health professions programs, including emergency medical technician

and respiratory therapist, powered by 41 simulation labs and high-tech computer classrooms.

TCC is the fastest, most convenient and affordable path to a rewarding health care career.

Visit tcc.edu to learn more.

HEALTH CAREERS.Just a heartbeat away.

CHES A P E A K E I N O R F O L K | P O R T SMOU T H I S U F F O L K I V I R G I N I A B E A C H

TCCENROLL.COM | 757-822-1122

estminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay would like to thank our employees for providing

the fi nest nursing care in Enhanced Services, The Hoy Center, Home Health, Home Care and Resident Clinic:

• Nurse Practitioner • Registered Nurse • Licensed Practical Nurse • Clinical Coordinator • Medication Aide • Certifi ed Nursing Assistant

• Hospice Nurse • Personal Care Assistant • Home Health Aide• Home Health Nurse • Hospice Aide • Physicians Assistant

Creating community to foster joy and well-being.www.wcbay.com • 3100 Shore Drive • Virginia Beach VA 23451

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Appreciate Your Professionalism

Documents

Pilot Media - National Nurses Week 2015