A message from Nurses Week presenting sponsor Northern Arizona Healthcare

Nurses are known as the backbone of health care. Not only do they care for their patients, but they are also advocates for their patients and patient’s families

Although health care has been a challenging profession these last few years, Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) has persevered to ensure that each patient who steps foot in FMC will receive exceptional care,and this couldn’t have been possible without our extraordinary nurses.

Alongside our physicians and other patient caregivers, nurses at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) have put their lives on the line to care for those that need it most in our community. They come to work knowing the risks, with a sense of commitment and duty, putting other’s health ahead of their own. Each nurse has their own story of why they went into the nursing profession, but it’s clear that they share one common denominator – passion.

“I am honored to say that the entirety of my nursing career has all been at FMC on the same unit, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon,” said Candy Dockter, an RN in a Med-Surg Tele (MST) unit at FMC.

“Being an MST nurse is highly underrated in the nursing world, but providing top-notch care to the patient and their families is a joy that the MST RN gets to embrace,”

Dockter continued.“I also serve as a preceptor and mentor to new nurses and prepare them to deliver excellent care. I lovelookingaroundNAHandseeingstudentsandnewgrad RN’s that I have trained in various positions all around the organization.”

“The culture on my unit and serving as an advocate for the patient is what makes me love where I work. The providers at NAH and all the other staff work together to obtain optimal quality care for our town. With the support of NAH and my MST team, I am able to help patients reach their goals and progress from a higher level of care to home. To me, MST nursing is the backbone of nursing and encompasses many aspects of practicing medicine. Every day, every patient is different and proposes a new challenge.Getting hugs and seeing people discharge out of the hospital is very rewarding and is the end goal of care.”

At FMC you will see nurses working each day to give the members of our community the same compassionate care in their time of need. As integral members of our hospital,

NAH is proud to celebrate the dedication and commitment of our nurses during this year’s National Nurses Week,May 6-12.

Although there were efforts to designate a recognition day for nurses in the 1950s, it wasn’t until 1974 that the first National Nurses Week was celebrated. In 1982, a joint congressional resolution designated May 6 as “National Recognition Day for Nurses,” and in 1991, the celebration was expanded to National Nurses Week to accommodate the varied schedules of America’s nurses.

During National Nurses Week,NAH is celebrating nurses of today, as well as those of yesterday. Flagstaff Hospital opened its doors on Jan. 4, 1936 (it became FMC in 1983). The original facility housed four patients and employed two nurses and two physicians Today, FMC employs over 820 nurses,a number that has grown throughout the years as the Flagstaff community continues to grow.

For more than 50 years our nurses have provided outstanding care to the residents of northern Arizona, and we look forward to celebrating these hardworking nurses for the next 50 years.

Please join NAH as we thank nurses this week and throughout the year, for everything they do to care for the health of our community.