NOCH celebrates nurses week

Fri, May 9, 2008    to del.icio.us

Sue Willis exemplifies exactly what a nurse should be, according to her co-workers at North Ottawa Community Hospital.

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Willis will be presented with the NOCH Nurse Excellence Award in a special ceremony at the hospital Monday. It will be done to conclude the hospital's celebration of National Nurses Week, May 6-12.

Willis gives every patient "the best care possible," said Lori McCabe, a registered nurse at the NOCH Family Birthing Unit who serves on the hospital's Nurse Excellence Award committee. "She not only keeps the patient in mind, but the family (too) — because she's an intensive care nurse and that can be very frightening in that department."

McCabe, herself a recipient of the award in 1999, said the program dates back to 1993 as a way for nurses to honor one of their colleagues each year. There are presently about 200 nurses on staff at NOCH.

Willis has worked at NOCH for 32 years, starting as a nurse's aide until becoming an RN in 1985. She's worked in the hospital's intensive care unit since 1989.

"It's more involved than what I thought it was going to be," Willis said of the nursing profession. "Each year it gets more (involved). Every day you learn something new. I love the direct contact with the patient, being able to reassure patients or offer comfort, offer safety or be the patient advocate. I like to interact with the families and help to answer their questions or concerns."

Willis and her husband, Robert, live in Spring Lake Township. They have two sons: Rob, 40; and Marty, 38.

National Nurses Week is celebrated each year from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day; through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The American Nurses Association describes the occupation as equal parts art and science "that embraces dedicated people with varied interests, strengths and passions because of the many opportunities the profession offers."

On the Net:

American Nurses Association, www.nursingworld.org