2021 Nurses Honorees

“She wanted all her children to grow up doing something to give back to the community for our blessings,” said Lane, who serves in the pre-operative department at East Alabama Medical Center. “But at that time, I did not want to be a nurse because I didn’t want to see a lot of blood. Instead, I chose a degree in social work from Troy State University.

“After working as a social worker, I decided it was best for me to leave that profession to those who are more patient and good-hearted. So, I went to school at Southern Union, and this time tried nursing. I didn’t tell my mother. I would hide my books under the bed whenever she would come visit.”

Thankful to her husband, Rick, who helped care for their 4-year-old daughter Kerri, Lane recalled how she delved deep into her studies and while working part-time at the hospital. However, misfortune struck during Lane’s pursuit to become a nurse.

“My mother got sick with cancer, and so I ended up telling her in tears and joy about my nursing, as she was determined to see me through graduation, and after the birth of our daughter, Hannah, she passed away,” Lane said. “I look back now at those difficult days, amazed at how God’s mercies are truly new every morning and great is His faithfulness. This personal experience reaffirmed me to always set my hope in God.”

After 32 years, Lane said she continues “to appreciate learning lessons from patients, coworkers, our doctors and the EAMC family about the need to care about what hurts and what is important to people.”

“One of those lessons dear to my heart is caring for mothers who have gotten sick,” Lane added. “I hear their desire to live, see and dream the best for their children, reminding me of my mother’s teaching.”

“Being in the medical field was something I had always wanted to do, but wasn’t always confident I could do,” said Creighton, who’s been a nurse for 11 years and serves as a member of the intensive care unit team at East Alabama Medical Center. “Through lots of hard work, strong determination and wonderful encouragement from my family and my amazing husband, Michael, I obtained my dream of becoming a nurse.

“I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be a light. I wanted to try to help someone feel better at a time that is most important, and for many, very difficult. I wanted to be able to share what I had learned from my mother, from my studies and my experience.”

In a show of gratitude for all that she’s shared, readers of the Opelika-Auburn News have nominated Creighton as one of the area’s top nurses.

“In life, we are often faced with challenges, moments where help is both needed and appreciated,” Creighton said. “For me, the most rewarding thing I’ve been able to do as a nurse is help. Because I am a nurse, I haven’t had to just stand by and feel helpless.

“I’ve been able to help others, be it friends or random people not known to me. I’ve been able to help explain information given to me in a way that they can understand. I’ve been able to break down and explain how the medications they are prescribed will help them.”

Being a great nurse, Creighton said, requires many things.

“It takes great care for others and for the job you do,” she added. “It takes immense amounts of empathy for all you serve and take care of, and for your coworkers as well. It takes humbleness and knowing your limitations. It takes confidence and the willingness to ask for help when needed.”

Coker’s genuine passion she’s shown throughout her nursing journey has now reached a unique milestone of recognition: She was nominated as one of the area’s top nurses by readers of the Opelika-Auburn News.

In fact, Coker’s dad, a 22-year Navy veteran who died on Nov. 14, 2000, helped her find the path to nursing.

“He was sick for a while,” said Coker, who’s served as a school nurse at John P. Powell Middle School in LaFayette since 2017. “Nevertheless… [I didn’t know] God was getting me ready for an amazing journey in nursing. My cousin was a hospice nurse, and… [she knew] my dad wanted to die at home. So at this time, she sat down and talked to all of us… where my father would be comfortable in his own home with his family.”

Realizing her dad could pass at any moment, Coker devoted her time toward learning how to help him.

“I let the nurses teach me how to clean him, feed him, bathe him and comfort him,” she said. “I also took him to his doctor’s appointments until he took his last breath.”

Deeming her journey as a nurse as “an experience I will never forget,” Coker said her passion for caring for others “grows more and more.”

“I want to better myself in knowledge and wisdom so I will be sufficient in taking care of my patients,” she added. “If given the opportunity I would love to further my education to be able to teach a nursing course in the future. All things are possible. Always dream big and set your goals.”

Readers of the Opelika-Auburn News are very impressed by Henderson’s aspirations and scholarly achievements, having nominated her as one of the area’s top nurses.

“My job as a palliative care nurse practitioner is the most rewarding job I’ve ever done,” Henderson said. “I found my love of palliative care by working with oncology patients as a nurse and having some hard conversations. I help families with difficult conversations in the hospital. Knowing I am possibly making these extremely hard decisions a tiny bit easier is a reward every single day, especially during the COVID pandemic. Lots of hard decisions have to be made, and I’m honored that I’ve aided some families in those conversations.”

The most challenging part of her job is coordinating with family members, Henderson said, and this past year has been the hardest she’s ever experienced.

“Yes, the pandemic was horrible, but seeing loved ones separated from families due to visitor restrictions, or family members being sick as well, has been so difficult,” she said. “Navigating how to handle that and have hard conversations has proven interesting.”

To be a good nurse, the chief ingredient is empathy, Henderson said.

“Empathy is the single most important quality, in my opinion, for a nurse to have,” she added. “As a nurse, we are constantly encountering patients who are scared. Healthcare is scary, a new diagnosis is scary, losing a loved one is scary. Being able to empathize with our patients is huge. They need to know we recognize their emotions. Everyone responds differently to events in their life. Being in the hospital is no different.”

“I always make sure patients know they are No. 1,” said Simpson, a 1994 graduate of Southern Union State Community College. “It makes me feel good when they are happy with their care and treatment. I strive every day to provide for their needs. My reward, in return, is their feeling of being taken care of.”

Readers of the Opelika-Auburn News have decided to reward Simpson in another way. She’s been nominated as one of the area’s top nurses.

“My path to becoming a nurse began in high school,” Simpson said. “I enrolled in health occupation courses. As I began clinicals in different healthcare settings, I decided nursing was definitely my calling. I love interacting with patients and providing the best care possible.”

With the rewards come challenges, and the biggest one, from Simpson’s perspective, is stress.

“Nursing is stressful,” she said. “You have many people depending on you. It can be overwhelming at times, but you just have to breathe and get through it. I feel this has definitely been the case over the last year, as we all try to figure out how to be safe and healthy but continue to take care of others.”

Asked to share her thoughts on what makes a good nurse, Simpson emphasized that one “needs not only skills, but compassion as well.”

“A good nurse listens to patients,” she said. “You need to be mentally strong but caring at the same time. You must be dedicated and have patience.”

While the nursing profession is certainly affected by advances in technology, the primary objective remains the same, Simpson said.

“When I first started, everything was done on paper; today, everybody is trying to go paperless,” she said. “We did not have many of the devices we use today, which makes my job easier. While everything changes, people are still people, and we just need to remember that and take care of their needs. Patient care always comes first.”

“Nursing takes a lot of grit,” said Helton, a 1995 graduate of LaGrange College. “It’s not about receiving praise or acclamation. It is about taking care of someone’s basic needs to allow them to recover and/or have better quality of life. Each day is filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. A good nurse needs to be able to communicate well under pressure, whether that be to medical staff, patients or families. Being a nurse is all about serving.”

It appears that Helton has done well in communicating her desire to serve others. The proof is evidenced by her nomination by Opelika-Auburn News readers as one of the area’s top nurses.

“The most rewarding part of my career would have to be the relationships that I have built with my patients, students and families,” Helton said. “Being a school nurse for eight years has allowed me to develop relationships not only with the students that I interact with on a daily basis, but also with their families as well.

“In a hospital setting, typically you are able to care for a patient for a few days or weeks at most. As a school nurse, I have the privilege to care for students on a daily basis for two years, whether that be first aid, administering medications, developing and implementing IHPs [Individualized Healthcare Plans], or providing care for chronically ill children.”

Having been a nurse for more than 20 years, Helton chose to engage in the field when she was a high school senior. In addition to her experience as a school nurse, she has also worked as a medical-surgical nurse, as well as in occupational health nursing.

Like any profession, nursing has undergone its fair share of changes over the years, Helton said.

“Technology, medications and policies are ever-changing, but the core of the job stays the same,” she said. “You have to be able to serve others well, selflessly.”

Johnson’s desire to care for others has gained much appreciation, as she’s been nominated by Opelika-Auburn News readers as one of the area’s top nurses.

Her biggest reward, however, is the time she spends with up-and-coming nurses.

“While there are many rewarding opportunities in the nursing field, I can truly say one of the most rewarding and satisfying experiences as a nurse is the opportunity to share my knowledge with the younger nurses,” Johnson said. “Seeing them connect knowledge with practice is a great feeling.”

As the director of case management at EAMC, among other roles, Johnson is responsible for overseeing duties such as insurance certification and social work discharge planning.

“In my current role, I would say one of the biggest challenges is connecting our patients to the resources in the community that will aid them in becoming self-sufficient,” she said. “Sometimes the resources are scarce and having the opportunity to be a patient advocate can be challenging.”

Despite the challenges, Johnson said, “there is no better feeling than identifying the right blend of resources to get the patient what is needed to succeed.”

“This was particularly challenging during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “I always believe that we should never settle for less when we are pooling resources for our patients and community. I approach each situation as if I am working for my own family. If I would do it for family, I am willing to do it for our patients.”

“I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t wanting to care for someone or something, so I guess I would have to say I was called to serve,” said Place-Chaffin, who serves patients at Arbor Springs Health and Rehab Center in Opelika. “My first healthcare opportunity to serve was as a volunteer candy striper, which reinforced my desire to pursue my calling in healthcare as soon as possible. So, between my volunteer days and becoming a registered nurse, I was able to serve as a medic in the U.S. Army.”

It appears that others are happy that Place-Chaffin embraced her life’s calling as well, given her nomination as one the area’s top nurses by readers of the Opelika-Auburn News. Grateful for this recognition, Place-Chaffin deemed it as one of many rewards she’s experienced as a nurse.

“I can’t think of one thing, specifically, that stands out as the most rewarding in my nursing career,” she said. “What does stand out is the opportunity it provides me daily to make a difference in someone’s life, to make the not-so-good better. Those rewards await me each day, and I’m honored to be allowed to make a difference.”

Deeming nursing as a “demanding profession and at times unforgiving,” Place-Chaffin also highlighted that “the reward and tapestry of triumph and tragedy has impacted my life in a profound way.”

“I believe resiliency is one of the greatest challenges in nursing,” she said in sharing about her biggest challenge on the job. “Nurses must be self-aware and make meeting their own needs a priority. The seasons change quickly, and changing with them is essential to longevity and sustainability.”

A good nurse, as defined by Place-Chaffin, is a person who’s “dedicated to the job, works from the heart and has a sincere and wonderful attitude.”

“For anyone thinking of nursing as a profession, I would encourage to listen to your true calling and listen to your heart,” Pace-Chaffin said. “If you feel you have been called or led to this profession, don’t miss the opportunity to serve others. It can be one of the most rewarding choices of your life.”

“I wanted to do something in my career that was challenging, interesting and makes a difference in people’s lives daily,” Turner said. “Nursing is a career that helps you save lives, brings happiness to individuals and their families, and comfort to those in need.”

Turner must be touching people’s lives, as readers of the Opelika-Auburn News have nominated her as one of the area’s top nurses.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the community for your prayers, love and support, especially this past year,” Turner said. “We appreciate it very much. May God bless you.”

A graduate of Troy University School of Nursing, Turner said the most rewarding thing she’s experienced as a nurse is having “the privilege and opportunity of caring for the injured, sick and dying.”

“This gives me the opportunity to make a difference in their lives by giving them care in the time of their need,” she added. “Nursing is a profession that constantly gives back to me. I am rewarded every single day in so many ways. I am blessed to have a job that is rewarding.”

While challenges in the nursing profession have changed over the years, “the career itself remains true to those who are motivated to serve others,” Turner said.

“Having empathy to interact with the patient and their family, and helping them cope with problems, is essential in a nursing position,” she said, in referring to her outlook of what makes a good nurse. “I believe that, to be a nurse today, you have to have compassion, and it has to come from the heart.”

To anyone who is considering pursuing a career in nursing, Turner emphasized that it’s a path that provides unique opportunities for making meaningful connections with others.

“I would tell anyone wanting to become a nurse it is a very rewarding career,” Turner said. “I would advise them that learning and gaining experience takes time, so be patient with it.”

The 2008 Opelika High School graduate has spent the last 13 years training and working as a nurse in much of Alabama. She has nursing degrees from Troy University, Southern Union State Community College and the University of Alabama. That led to jobs at East Alabama Medical Center and – eventually – to her current posting in the emergency room at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus.

It was in EAMC’s cardiac care unit, in her first nursing job after working several years as a technician, where she lost her first patient.

“I remember him to this day. It was right after I got off orientation, and I remember that he had gotten to the end of his disease process, and he knew that he was dying,” recalled Humphrey-Williams. “And after he died, the family lined up in the hall and they all gave me a hug and I went to the supply closet and I cried.”

It took her a year at EAMC, she said, before she felt like she knew how to handle patients.

“Oh man … I think that I was a little bit apprehensive at first about what you should tell the patient,” Humphrey Williams said. “Now, I am just as honest as possible. I think that it benefits the patient for you to be honest with them about what’s going on with them and medication and what they should expect. You don’t want them going into anything blind.”

No amount of training or experience could have prepared Humphrey-Williams and her co-workers for COVID-19, which hit the St. Francis emergency room as hard as it hit EAMC and other hospitals.

“I don’t know how to tell somebody that comes in on a Monday and has a cough, and by Friday they’re on a ventilator, I don’t know how to explain to that patient’s family how they could have prevented that or anything like that, …

“Now it’s strangely just the part of life, it’s just a routine that we’ve gotten ourselves into. A good proportion of us are vaccinated now, so our fears have kind of subsided and it allows us to just roll with the punches as far as how we take care of people,” she said.

Humphrey-Williams just finished master’s degree work at Troy to become a nurse practitioner, but she’s not sure where she will practice.

“It’s kind of like when you first become a nurse,” she explained. “You have to get out there and get your bearings. You can’t be extremely picky about where you want to go. … It might be my ER background because I’ve dealt with such a wide variety of patients. It doesn’t matter.”