Alice Darrow, a former Navy nurse, was honored for her love of life and patriotic commitment to our country as one of the last living links to Pearl Harbor when she celebrated her 105th birthday in Danville, California, surrounded by family, friends, and community members.
Darrow was born in 1919 in Paso Robles and enrolled in nursing school after finishing high school. She then served as a Navy nurse and worked at Peralta Hospital in Oakland when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. She is considered among the last of the ‘greatest generations in American history.’
Daily Nurse proudly names Alice Darrow Nurse of the Week in recognition of her love of life, patriotic commitment to our country, and status as one of the last living links to Pearl Harbor.
One Naval officer was blown off his boat as Japanese gunmen kept firing as Darrow (then Alice Beck) climbed aboard his rescue boat. “When the boat came by to pick him up, he was trying to pull himself up on the boat. They shot him. He got shot in the back,” Darrow says.
It wasn’t until four months later, while he was being treated for appendicitis, doctors did an x-ray and discovered a bullet in his heart. Darrow was assigned to him as his nurse.
“He asked me, ‘Ms. Becky, if I survive this, would you take liberty with me?’ Which was a shock. So, I said, ‘sure, why not?’ They didn’t think he was going to make it anyways,” says Darrow.
When Mr. Darrow died in 1991, the couple had been married for almost fifty years. Together, they raised four children in Lake County, where both parents were active in military memorial services.
Darrow credits her longevity to her secret to life. “Always have something to look forward to. It gets your body and mind ready for what’s next. And, of course, family, friends, and laughter.”
As for what’s next for Darrow, she’s looking forward to an ‘around the world’ cruise later this year with her daughter.
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
Kate Veenstra, DNP, MSN, RN, CNL, CMSRN, ACM, NEA-BC, was recently appointed as the new chief nursing officer at the University of Michigan Health-West. Her more than 18 years of experience also tells quite a story.
Veenstra started as a bedside nurse at the hospital in 2006 and has held many roles, from associate chief nursing officer to the most recent interim chief nursing officer. Throughout her career, Veenstra has been a champion for her team and patients, leading initiatives that have significantly improved care and productivity.
One of her most notable accomplishments is co-leading a clinical nurse program, which helped to reduce cardiac readmissions and hospital stays. She also participated in a clinical care team during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily Nurse named Kate Veenstra the Nurse of the Week for her outstanding contributions. According to Dr. Ronald Grifka, president of UM Health-West, “Kate’s caring nature, innovative mindset, clinical expertise, and commitment to nursing excellence make her the ideal leader for this role.”
Veenstra is passionate about the success of nurses in West Michigan and has been involved in developing the Amy Van Andel Nursing Scholars program, which aims to remove cost barriers for those looking to start their careers in nursing. She has also played a significant role in creating a talent partnership with talent partnership with Grand Rapids Community College and the UM Health-West Foundation.
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
Today is Certified Nurses Day, and the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) is celebrating its over 50,000 “RN-credible” specialty-certified emergency, trauma, transport, and burn nurses and nationally certified nurses in every specialty.
In their 2023 Annual Report, BCEN revealed that over 60,000 BCEN credentials are held by nurses in 28 countries, with over 40,000 RNs possessing the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) credential.
Specialty-certified RNs are truly incredible, according to BCEN’s CEO and American Board of Nursing Specialties Past President Janie Schumaker. When you receive care from a nationally certified emergency, trauma, transport, burn, or other specialty nurse, you know you’re being treated by the best of the best.
Board-certified nurses go above and beyond their nursing license requirements to master advanced knowledge across their specialty, take a rigorous exam to prove it, and commit to staying on top of the latest advances and best practices. This is the kind of nursing care we all want and deserve, and that is worth celebrating!
To recognize and celebrate specialty-certified RNs on BCEN’s Certified Nurses Day page, they offer these free resources and assets:
-Free-to-download “You RN-credible” note card
-Free Nurse Recognition Toolkit for recognizing certified RNs on Certified Nurses Day or any day
-“Nurses RN-credible” t-shirt and stickers.
BCEN is dedicated to supporting nurses throughout their certification and recertification journeys and responding to the needs of their high-achieving community of nurses,” says Schumaker.
Nurse practitioner Judy Vire has dedicated her life to establishing care for patients in rural parts of Central Texas. Her clinic, Kocurek & James, is one of a few providers offering medical care to communities desperate for easier access.
Vire has a master’s degree in nursing, was a nursing educator, and worked in many nursing roles, but she said her love of small-town America and the people there inspires her life’s work.
Daily Nurse proudly names Judy Vire the Nurse of the Week for her dedication to providing access to care to small-town and rural communities and caring for the most vulnerable patients, those who are unable to leave their homes.
Vire and her family settled in Flatonia, where she helped open the Rural Health Clinic in Flatonia and Schulenberg. Medical care is paramount for people in this rural part of Central Texas.
“It’s critical. Without having access to care close to home, people would be commuting into Austin, Katy, Victoria — that’s at least an hour’s drive any way you go,” Vire says. “These small communities depend on having these home-grown clinics close to home for convenience and access to care.”
Vire often makes house calls to the most vulnerable patients who cannot leave their homes.
“Because it’s a rural area, we serve an older population. The 65 and older are our largest population, and they, of course, need the most care,” Vire explains.
Regardless of whether a patient is old or young, Vire believes establishing trust is most important.
“Healthcare is personal. And when you have to tell someone bad news that impacts their lives, that is very personal, and people let you do that and trust you to do that,” she says.
That trust, she says, is why she’s given over 40 years to this career. Throughout her time at the Schulenberg clinic, she has seen generations of families making a daily impact on these communities.
In 2003, Vire was named Nurse Practitioner of the Year, and this year, she’s a Remarkable Woman nominee.
“It feels wonderful, and I was very surprised because there are a whole lot of more remarkable women than myself,” she says.
When asked about her most treasured career accomplishment at this clinic, she said it’s time.
“Maybe it’s longevity,” Vire says. “I can’t believe it’s been 30-some-odd years, and I am still doing this. I am proud of that.”
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
Springer Publishing launched a new monthly health care podcast series, Conversations About Health Care Delivery in the United States, featuring discussions with prominent experts, innovators, and leaders in the health sector available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music starting on March 7.
The podcast series is hosted by Jim Knickman, the former Robert Derzon Chair at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and Brian Elbel, MPH, Professor of Population Health and Health Policy at NYU Wagner and the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The series dives into complex and challenging issues affecting the U.S. health care system, its workforce, and the populations interacting with it, covering topics like health management, public health, health behavior, population health, healthcare quality, and health economics.
Knickman and Elbel engage with guests who are leaders in the health sector, from aging services to health policy, to learn more about the key drivers shaping the health care system, challenges and complexities related to health inequities, and the exciting career opportunities available to future health care professionals and leaders.
The podcast series is a companion to the 13th edition of Jonas and Kovner’s Health Care Delivery in the United States, as each episode has ties to essential concepts, challenges, complexities, and themes in the textbook.
Podcast Episode
How the U.S. Health Care Systems is Preparing for the Demographic Cliff features Ramsey Alwin, President and CEO of the National Council on Aging, and Kathleen Cameron, Senior Director of the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging.
The episode offers an in-depth discussion about the demographic shift, how the roles of families and social systems have evolved, federal and state-level programs for seniors, social isolation and inequities in the aging population, healthy aging, and exciting career opportunities in aging services.
The podcast series also features a supplemental instructor guide for anyone using the textbook that provides learning activities, discussion questions, and other guidance to engage with each episode, delivering practical and engaging content to learners and professionals in the health care space.
