“Compassionate” Good Samaritan associate named Nurse of the Year
DOWNERS GROVE - A nurse who is described as a compassionate yet empowering force for her colleagues and patients alike has been named the Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Nurse of the Year.
Several members of the Good Samaritan family were honored for their contribution to the hospital and its community during the Annual Nurses Week Celebration May 11.
Each year, Good Samaritan joins hospitals across the country to celebrate the invaluable work of its skilled nurses during the week of appreciation, which ran this year from May 6 to 12.
This year, birth center nurse Kathy West was given the prestigious honor of Nurse of the Year, the night's headline event.
"Although Kathy sets the bar up high, she is humble and doesn't seek the limelight. Kathy's reward is knowing that she does the 'right thing' for the right reason and not because she was expecting some accolades for doing so," says her nomination letter, written by her birth center coworkers.
West is known as a strong clinical nurse through her 39 years at Good Samaritan Hospital, and is sought out as a resource by her peers as someone committed to lifelong learning and facilitating change.
In her role there, she not only helps mothers-to-be have healthy babies, but also has found a passion for helping women and families who are going through a high-risk pregnancy or perinatal loss. West has received additional specialized training to help those in need or grieving. She also continues to work with families after their discharge through volunteer work through the national pregnancy and infant loss support organization SHARE.
"Kathy is a role model for other staff," says Olga Lazala, a perinatal clinical specialist at the birth center. "She often goes beyond what is expected for a staff nurse and does so with genuine enthusiasm. I feel that Kathy views nursing as a calling not just a job."
Assistant clinical manager at the center Nancy Longino, who has worked with West throughout the length of their careers, described her as a clinically excellent nurse who always works in a caring and compassionate manner.
West even assisted in the birth of Longino's son, she says.
"I have seen her give compassionate, loving care to so many patients in the most vulnerable time of their lives, and do it with grace, quiet confidence, and joy," Longino says.