| Ward
is employee of the month
Kathy Ward, RN, was selected as the St. Mary’s Hospital Employee of the Month for September. She received multiple nominations and was selected by the SMHC customer service team at their monthly meeting. 
Ward first joined the Kamiah Medical Clinic in 1985 working part time as Dr. Ron Sigler’s nurse. As the clinic expanded its hours she also began serving as nurse for Dr. Andrew Jones, in addition to assuming duties as a charge nurse supervising the nursing staff and fulfilling related administrative responsibilities. “I wanted to be a nurse since I was a child,” said Ward who graduated from the Sacred Heart School of Nursing, Spokane, in 1970. “I enjoy the patients I’ve met over the years. I like working not only with Dr. Sigler and Dr. Jones, but with all the clinic staff. Everyone makes my days enjoyable.” In addition to being a Registered Nurse, Ward is a certified childbirth educator and has taught Lamaze classes in the past. “Kathy exemplifies what a nurse is and should be,” said one of her nomination forms. “She is very caring and compassionate with every single patient. As fellow employees we know we can count on her to take care of everything that needs to be done. She is very genuine, as a person and as a nurse.” Another nomination said she “…treats our patients with respect and dignity….always giving 100% and always with a smile…she exemplifies all the traits an employee should possess and is wonderful to work with…” Yet another nomination describes her as compassionate and concerned saying she often stays late making sure every patient who has called receives a call back. “She’ll write letters to her patients if she can’t reach them by phone.” “Kathy would probably blush if she knew all the kind things people say and think about her. She always goes the extra mile without expecting recognition,” said another co-worker. When not working Kathy enjoys scrapbooking, making quilts, cooking and baking, skills she claims were handed down through her mother’s inspiration. She and her husband, Roger, a retired US Forest Service employee, have two children, Ashley and Rob. They have lived in Kamiah since 1976. |
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