Fenton talks about the joys and challenges of nursing: past, present and future
by Loni Rahm, photo above: Susie Fenton pictured with her husband Bill at the Nurse of the Year Award Ceremony.
It only took a few minutes for Susie Fenton, RN, BSN, CEN, to stride across the stage and accept her award for NCW Nurse of the Year. The journey to that stage, however, spanned almost 4 decades and represents a lifetime of training, hard work, determination and adaptability. And, as Susie is quick to point out, teamwork!
Susie has been a nurse for 37 years – 31 of those at Lake Chelan Community Hospital (now Lake Chelan Health). Her years in the Emergency Room bear witness to change and growth in treating the variety of injuries and situations that warrant a visit to the busy ER.
Susie’s nursing career began with Sisters of Providence hospital system in the Pacific Northwest. Her focus for the first 6 years of nursing was adult medical and psych. “It was a large hospital with the latest in gadgets and specialized teams,” she recalls.
In 1992, she made the move to Chelan, leaving big city nursing for something called “rural” nursing.
I asked Susie to describe the hospital as she first encountered it. “Tiny, with limited resources” she said. “There was no doctor in the ER. The doctor, along with OB, lab techs, x-ray, and other specialists were on call. Rural hospitals create an environment where nurses need to think and act quickly.”
“You wear many hats,” said Fenton. “I just didn’t realize how many. I may have entered over confident, and was quickly humbled and scared.”
As the community grew and technology advanced, the ER advanced as well. There was more staff and more available technology, said Susie. “At some point, we gained an in-house PA (Physician Assistant) along with technicians for CT scans, ultrasounds, labs and more. Turnaround times decreased dramatically. Eventually we had an ER doctor on site and 24-hour access to specialists. Throughout all that growth, we continued to give exceptional care.”
But the old hospital was experiencing severe growing pains. There were “problems” reflective of the facilities age and space limitations that could not be fixed. A new hospital was on the horizon.
The time between groundbreaking for the new hospital and the actual move-in process seemed to drag on forever. The inconveniences and restrictive space challenges in the existing ER were magnified by the prospect of the new facility.
Congratulations to Susie Fenton, RN, BSN, CEN (Registered Nurse, Bachelors of Science in Nursing, Certified Emergency Nurse) at Lake Chelan Health Hospital, for her outstanding achievement!
Susie was honored with the North Central Washington Nurse of the Year Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice
Susie laughed as she described the ancient swing-arm light that had to be moved from bed to bed in the old ER, stating with relief that proper lighting would be a key component in the new ER.
In addition the ER bed capacity would nearly double — growing from 5 beds to 9. Medical staff would work with more accessible space and conveniences like the “COW” (computers on wheels) which makes reporting and record keeping more efficient.
Susie mentioned another great feature at the new hospital: brand new “spacelab” monitors in every room and a program called “safe and sound”. This enables the monitor to communicate with the EMR (electronic medical record) T system. Vital signs automatically flow into the chart without the staff needing to manually input every blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels etc. These monitors save valuable time, and alert nursing staff of potentially dangerous variables in vitals.
When Fenton isn’t logging miles in the ER, she can usually be found with her husband, children and grandchildren. “When we talk about life/work balance I have been very lucky. I have been very fortunate to live in paradise for the better part of my career and life,” said Susie. “After falling in love and marrying my husband, I gained an amazing son and daughter and now am a grandmother of 3.”
Fenton has been through a variety of changes in her tenure at Lake Chelan’s hospitals. “My career has been all encompassing in that my experiences have ranged from welcoming that new life into the world to helping others say goodbye at the bedside.”
But one thing has never changed: her desire to consistently provide high quality patient care. Being named North Central Washington’s Nurse of the Year is an indication that she has been more than successful in accomplishing that goal.
Congratulations Susie. We appreciate your hard work in caring for the community!
Susie addresses current and future health care challenges in these excerpts from her Nurse of the Year acceptance speech.
My daughter in law Gretchen is embarking on the nursing path, following her mother and myself into the field and I know the challenges she will face now but I wonder about what’s ahead.
There’s the past challenges of a pandemic which stretched our resources beyond belief and stretched some of us to a near breaking point. Current challenges of a opioid crisis, mental health crisis, and homelessness all impact our healthcare system. We are feeling the impact of a nursing shortage and most commonly bed shortage.
Our patients are sicker and more complicated and the need to transfer to a higher level of care becomes difficult when faced with lack of bed availability. As a result, we are boarding sick patients in our ER dept not only for hours but sometimes for days — hoping to get them where they need to go.
Once we find an accepting facility, transport may be hindered by weather. Air or ground transport can be affected by visibility, winter conditions, and smoke and fire create difficult situations.
Susie Fenton, RN, the early years
As I speak to the new nurses entering the field, health equity, inclusion, cultural diversity are not just buzz words but important conversations to have and important to implement in practice.
Safety is always important and at the forefront. Violence against nursing and healthcare workers across the board is ever present and increasing and needs to be addressed.
Hopefully as we continue to face challenges they will not be insurmountable and we will rise to overcome them.
My friend Sara just sent me a note for nurses week and in her card she wrote: “my how the years have flown, so many have learned from you, so many lives touched”.
But it has been my life that has been touched. So many experiences, so many people that have made my life so enriched in this very rewarding career. As I said in the beginning, many people helped and influenced me along the way.
My hope is that you in some way can give back, stepping up and being that mentor, teacher, influencer. Sharing your knowledge, encouragement, experiences and expertise our invaluable
For myself I can see the finish line up ahead….Many will be crossing the starting line, some in just a few weeks and many more to follow.
Although it will not be a race it will be a journey. I urge you to be a part of that journey.
We need great nurses who will have integrity, compassion, skill, respect, critical thinking and fortitude. They will need to be resourceful and resilient. I know that is the nurse I want caring for me and my loved ones, and I know you do too.
Thank You.
Susie Fenton, RN
