Nurses Week – Decades of Nursing at Walker Baptist

A lot has changed in 40 years, but the importance of nurses in our hospitals hasn’t. Nursing is still perhaps one of the hardest jobs there is. From 12 hour shifts on their feet to caring for multiple patients at a time, they are vital to providing great patient care. Their care and dedication make them special, especially when they’ve been with us for so long.

For Nurses Week, we are highlighting a nurse from Walker Baptist that started working there in each decade since it opened. In case you don’t know, that’s about 40 years of nursing history to cover. We spoke to Robbie Hindman, the Chief Nursing Officer at Walker, to see what she had to say about these special nurses.

The reason Robbie chose these nurses was that “they help create a feeling of home and hospitality between patients, physicians and our employees with their smiles, their sense of humor, their tears when they hurt with a family and their gigantic hearts.”

“They chose nursing as a career and they love caring for our patients and making a difference; whether it is caring for a new mother and baby or caring for the end of life patient,” she said. “Our nurses are engaged in the community and with the facility, which is what makes them so special. That connection is why they stay so long.”

The biggest impact these nurses have made is demonstrating the teamwork between Nurses and Physicians in order to provide the best care for our patients.

But what always makes those hard days worth it? “The thank you cards that come from patients and families telling about how important the hospital is to Walker County and examples about how much we helped them.”

Thank you to our featured nurses, as well as all of the nurses at Walker Baptist.

• Anileta Westrook is a Registered Nurse in Endoscopy Lab. She began her career at Walker January 5, 1977.  
• Jeanne Scott is a Charge Nurse on the IMC Unit.  She began her career at Walker January 6, 1981
• Martha Sparks is a Nurse Manager on the Surgery Unit. She began her career at Walker May 28, 1991
• Dennea Lane is a Registered Nurse on the IMC Unit. She began her career at Walker March 12, 2000
• Jayne Lolley is a Registered Nurse on in the Emergency Department. She began her career at Walker June 1, 2015