Nursing staff celebrated at Healdsburg Hospital

Staff Writer
The nursing staff at Healdsburg District Hospital has a combined
1,618 years of experience—which is only one of the many reasons to
celebrate them as part of National Nurses Week, according to Mark
Blankenship, R.N.
“Working in a small facility like this, you can’t have average
employees. You have to be above average, because your job specs
change every day,” Blankenship, Director of Perioperative Services
at Healdsburg District Hospital, said.
“These are nurses that absolutely could be making more money
someplace else. Every one of my nurses could be making eight to 12
dollars more. There’s a sense of duty here that I’ve never seen
anywhere else.”
Leaders at Healdsburg District Hospital are celebrating their
nursing staff this week, a bit early. National Nurses Week
technically begins May 6 and concludes with the birthday of
Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, on May 12.
Nursing is a profession that tends to be taken for granted: pop
culture depicts nurses taking flack from both doctors and patients,
and performing much of the medical grunt work. While nurses face
many of the same challenges physicians do—long hours, on-call
nights—they earn less money, and the acronym after a nurse’s name
carries less weight than “M.D.”
But Blankenship is so passionate about nursing that, according
to employees, some of those stereotypes fall away.
“It [under appreciation] is inherent in the profession,” said
Marianne Tucker, R.N., a nurse in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit.
“But here, we have a fabulous boss who appreciates us.”
Even a good boss can’t carry a nurse through overnight shifts,
missed time with their children, and long days with difficult
patients. Nurses throughout Healdsburg District Hospital—in the
Intensive Care Unit, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, and Emergency
Department—expressed something deeper when asked why they chose to
become a nurse.
“You make a difference with your patients, and you see progress.
Or even when you see a decline—we’re there with families when you
know the patient is going to die. But you always make a difference
by the end of your shift,” said Kate Ingram, R.N., a staff nurse
with the ICU who is cross-trained with the ED.
The nurses believed deeply in the importance of their work, and
echoed a philosophy articulated by Blankenship.
“Doctors take care of diseases,” Blankenship said. “Nurses take
care of people, and their responses to treatment.”
“You have a relationship with a patient during the most critical
time of their surgical experience,” explained Tucker, the PACU
nurse. “The PACU aspect is very satisfying—the transition from
someone who is unconscious to someone who is stable, and
healing.”
Mary Doll, who has been a registered nurse for 35 years and
works in the Medical Surgical Unit, agreed.
“When I had family members get sick and end up in the hospital,
I saw that the nurse made all the difference,” Doll said. “Now, if
I have a patient who has to come back in the hospital, we’re like
family.”
Conni Whitemore, R.N., is the ICU Nurse Manager, and says her
desire to become a nurse dates back to her childhood.
“I think it was in my blood when I was born… My mother told me I
was a nurse to all my stuffed animals,” Whitemore said. “And I love
the satisfaction of knowing that you did a really good job, taking
care of a patient and their families.”
Blankenship is himself a nurse, but crossed over into “the dark
side of management” in 2003. He described the peculiar mix of pride
and humility associated with taking care of another person in a
time of need.
“A person comes in here, and they’re asked to give up their
wallet, jewelry—everything that has value to them. They’re in a
foreign, scary place, and they’re asked to trust us. I honestly
can’t think of a greater privilege,” Blankenship said.
At Healdsburg District Hospital, it’s a privilege that most
nurses can’t imagine giving up anytime soon.
“Most nurses I know never fully retire,” Tucker said. “They just
cut back.”
Doll agreed.
“When I’m off for more than two days, I wonder what’s going on
at the hospital. I feel like I’m missing out,” Doll said. “Once
it’s part of you, it’s hard to leave. I imagine working into my
seventies. I can’t ever imagine stopping it.”
Lynda Hopkins can be reached at

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