{"id":20148,"date":"2023-10-18T01:07:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T01:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=20148"},"modified":"2023-10-17T19:19:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T19:19:10","slug":"donna-wright-r-n-retires-after-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/18\/donna-wright-r-n-retires-after-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Donna Wright, R.N. Retires After 50 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 50 plus years of nursing, Donna Wright, RN in the Mother\/Baby Unit at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River (SLWR) has retired. In 1992, Wright stepped off a Qantas flight from her Australian homeland and started working at the Moritz Hospital in Sun Valley.\u00a0 <\/span>Wright reflects on her plan to stay of a year or so, \u201cI had balanced my nursing life with years of skiing and travel. This was absolutely perfect! The place and especially the people, were so warm and wonderful, it felt like home.\u201d So, she stayed.\u00a0 <\/span>She has been at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River ever since it opened in 2000, working in the Mother\/Baby Unit.<\/p>\n

Wright said she decided to become a nurse when a Red Cross nurse visited her school in Australia when she was 5 years old. \u201c I saw the crisp white uniform, red wool cape, and a starched veil\u2026I was hooked! She was the \u2018Superhero\u2019 of my day,\u201d she explained. At 17, Wright moved into the Nurse\u2019s home which was an annex of the hospital to begin learning. She recalls, \u201cWe were expected to \u2018live in\u2019 for the first three years.\u00a0 <\/span>Fast friendships and a strong sense of camaraderie were formed.\u00a0 <\/span>50 years on, our friendships endure to this day.\u00a0 <\/span>Our training was \u2018general\u2019 \u2026in that, we were exposed and worked in every discipline.\u00a0 <\/span>Wherever rostered, that is where you spent the next few months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wright\u2019s career has been filled with memorable moments, ranging from joyful to tragic and everything in between. She feels one of the most rewarding things about being a labor and delivery nurse is helping families grow. \u201cThe raw and real connection to people of all walks can be challenging\u2026 But, what a privilege,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Wright is grateful for the opportunity to have served the Wood River Valley for so many years. \u201cTo my colleagues and families, I have met over the years, I am so grateful you have allowed me to be part of it all…So many emotions…a sense of belonging…joy and laughter,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of the families we have shared experiences with, are still here in this community…Happy and growing…One of our fantastic young nurses working here was one of \u2018our\u2019 babies!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her colleagues have bittersweet emotions about her retirement, while being happy for her, they will miss her terribly. \u201cWorking with Donna \u2013 since 2001 – has been one of the high points of my career.\u00a0 In all that time, I have only witnessed kindness, grace, and compassion – given in abundance and without constraint to her patients, her patient\u2019s families, and her co-workers. Donna is a brilliant light in the world of nursing.\u201d\u00a0 Karen Stevens PhD, RN \u2013 Asst. Nurse Manager SLWR<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day Donna and I met, was the first day I entered into the world at the Sun Valley Moritz Hospital! Now fast forward 26 years later – we reunited as nurses and co-workers on the Mother\/Baby Unit. Donna is a bright light wherever she goes, especially when she is in her nursing element. What an honor and privilege it has been to work with and learn from her. I want to be just like her when I grow up!\u201d-Jasmine\u00a0Schofield, RN, Mother\/Baby Unit, SLWR<\/p>\n

To anyone considering nursing as a career, Wright says, \u201cGrab the opportunity with both hands! The payback is beyond monetary…There is freedom and independence, the opportunity to travel, but more than anything else, to be able to engage meaningfully in peoples\u2019 lives. A true wealth of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright is known for her baking, getting up early, really early, every morning and bake bread and pastries which she brought to her colleagues and patients at the hospital. She explains the motivation, \u201cI grew up at my grandmother\u2019s hip in her tiny kitchen. My family were immigrants to Australia and her remedy for homesickness was to bake and feed friends, family.\u00a0 <\/span>She baked every day, so we awoke to the smell of yeast buns and rolls. Often her table was surrounded by young sailors from \u2018home\u2019. \u201c Wright has saved this quote\u2026 \u2018I believe baking is the best way for me to express love for my people in the present and honor the people of my past\u2026all in one batch!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As for what\u2019s next for Wright, she says she\u2019s going to sleep on it. She deserves t!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After 50 plus years of nursing, Donna Wright, RN in the Mother\/Baby Unit at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River (SLWR) has retired. In 1992, Wright stepped off a Qantas flight from her Australian homeland and started working at the Moritz Hospital in Sun Valley.\u00a0 Wright reflects on her plan to stay of a year or so, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,76,79,84,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-emergency-services","9":"category-health-news","10":"category-in-brief","11":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20150,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20148\/revisions\/20150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}