Vivian White joined CRH 23 years ago, and something she was told the year she started has always stuck with her. Mary Frasier, her manager at the time, mentioned the well-known phrase in the nursing world: “Nurses eat their young,” but then followed it with: “I like to think that here at Columbus Regional, we take our young under our wings and nurture them.”
Vivian worked in her local school system while raising four sons. When her youngest son was a senior in high school, she started studying for her Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree. Upon earning her ASN, she applied to CRH and to Schneck, which is closer to where she lives. It made a big difference to Vivian that CRH was willing to hire her when she had no nursing experience. “Columbus Regional took me under their wing when I had no experience. They oriented me, and they made me the nurse that I am now,” Vivian said.
Vivian started as a registered nurse on 6 Tower, when it was divided into two units: 6B was inpatient oncology; 6A was women’s health. Vivian was cross-trained to work on both units. She worked there for 11 years and then wanted to try something new. Joining IV Therapy as the first full-time employee, Vivian helped get the department up and running. Over time, the department grew to what it is today at more than 20 staff members. “It was fun to be there from the beginning and watch it grow,” Vivian said. She cared for some patients for more than a decade and developed close relationships with them. Recently, Vivian even visited a former patient while on vacation in Washington, D.C. It was when Vivian was working full-time in IV Therapy that she was encouraged by her director at the time, Daniel Noel, to pursue her bachelor’s degree. She and her two siblings all have college degrees – an accomplishment her parents were very proud of, because they both did not go to college. “It was an accomplishment that made me feel good,” Vivian said.
In 2021, Vivian had a stroke and was an inpatient at CRH for 10 days. She’s grateful for the great care she received. “When I had my stroke I would not have wanted to have been anywhere else. I always felt safe and very cared for,” she said. “I felt everyone went out of their way to take the best care of me. I cannot say enough good things about 5 Tower and 7 Tower.”
The stroke impacted the use of Vivian’s right hand. She was still able to do a lot of tasks in the department but felt she wasn’t carrying her weight. “That wonderful group of ladies didn’t complain about me, and they probably never would have,” she said. Sensing Vivian’s frustration, her manager, Jeannie Moon, told her about another position. “She made it clear she was not trying to push me out, but she could sense that I was frustrated,” said Vivian, who reached out to Zach Johns about the position. “Zach said he would be glad to have me,” she said. “Over the years, I have found that phrase to be so true: We take our young under our wings and nurture them. After I’ve been here 20 years, and I had a stroke, they found something that I could do, and I needed that. I wasn’t feeling useful, and this helped me feel useful again,” she said.
The position under Zach’s leadership is a bit unique in that the title changes depending on the work Vivian is doing. At times she works with the tele-neurology team – getting a list every morning of the patients who need consults, setting up the computer in the patient’s room for the consult, and helping with anything that is needed during the examination. At other times, Vivian is a discharge callback nurse. “I make sure patients have everything they need to hopefully keep them as home as long as possible,” she said. She conducts chart audits and ensures documentation has been done correctly. Vivian enjoys “going that extra step” to make sure patients have what they need after they are discharged. “I have ended up loving this position,” she said.
One of Vivian’s CRH career highlights was following the 2008 flood. She went to work at Schneck while our hospital was closed. While she enjoyed working with the nurses there, she learned to really appreciate what she had at CRH. “What I learned about our hospital was how good we have it, and I learned not to take those things for granted anymore,” she said.
Vivian is looking forward to retiring at the end of November. She and her husband, Pat, plan to travel to Freeport, Texas, and stay there for two months in the winter. Their dog, Millie, will be along for the trip. Vivian said her husband is her biggest cheerleader. He worked two jobs when she started nursing school, and even after he retired in 2018, he gets up every morning with her. “He makes breakfast and packs my lunch. I don’t know what I’d do without him,” she said.
Congratulations on your retirement, Vivian, and thank you for your decades of service at CRH!