Susan Van Deventer
May 2025
Susan
Van Deventer
,
RN
Patient Care Services Administration
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Colton
,
CA
United States
She was there on her own time and was not going to let the family deal with this alone. It was a long and very emotional evening.
Many of our nurses care for and comfort critically ill patients every day. However, I would like to recognize a nurse whose job is to cope with these emotions nearly every day of her life at ARMC. This nurse is our palliative care nurse, Sue Van Deventer.
Sue works with end-of-life patients and their loved ones nearly every day of the year. She is a two-time DAISY Award Honoree and can often be seen personally escorting patients to their families when being discharged from the hospital.
I’ve seen Sue and Father Miguel spend much of their time assisting patients and making them feel as comfortable as possible. She consoles the families and helps arrange marriages and religious ceremonies with many end-of-life patients. I have personally attended some of these events throughout the years and have been impressed with her dedication, commitment, and love she shows our patients.
There are countless contributions that I can mention, but I would like to bring light to one extraordinary encounter. I was fortunate enough to witness her consoling the family of a patient who was a US serviceman. The soldier was severely injured in a traffic accident. He was treated by many outstanding staff at ARMC, but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. On a Sunday morning, I was notified that this soldier might have an “Honor Walk” sometime that day. As I arrived around 6 pm, I began meeting with our staff and the family of the soldier. It did not surprise me to see Sue with some of the family members at this time. She was there on her own time and was not going to let the family deal with this alone. It was a long and very emotional evening. I believe we had several dozen employees on hand, and the soldier’s entire unit came out to say their farewells. There were several delays during the evening, but we finally were able to honor the serviceman with an “Honor Walk” for his family. This was one of the most emotional and difficult shoots I’ve ever had. However, Sue stood strong with the family and never left their side. She even checked up with me to make sure I was OK. It was nearly midnight when I left the hospital, but Sue was still with the family.
Needless to say, over the years, I have remained extremely impressed with Sue’s courage, love, and devotion to the hospital, its patients, and their families. I can’t think of a better example of a true hero than this! When I see Sue on the floors, I think of how lucky we are to have such an incredible nurse, but more importantly, how lucky our patients are to have Sue for their nurse. I would like to recognize Sue Van Deventer with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sue works with end-of-life patients and their loved ones nearly every day of the year. She is a two-time DAISY Award Honoree and can often be seen personally escorting patients to their families when being discharged from the hospital.
I’ve seen Sue and Father Miguel spend much of their time assisting patients and making them feel as comfortable as possible. She consoles the families and helps arrange marriages and religious ceremonies with many end-of-life patients. I have personally attended some of these events throughout the years and have been impressed with her dedication, commitment, and love she shows our patients.
There are countless contributions that I can mention, but I would like to bring light to one extraordinary encounter. I was fortunate enough to witness her consoling the family of a patient who was a US serviceman. The soldier was severely injured in a traffic accident. He was treated by many outstanding staff at ARMC, but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. On a Sunday morning, I was notified that this soldier might have an “Honor Walk” sometime that day. As I arrived around 6 pm, I began meeting with our staff and the family of the soldier. It did not surprise me to see Sue with some of the family members at this time. She was there on her own time and was not going to let the family deal with this alone. It was a long and very emotional evening. I believe we had several dozen employees on hand, and the soldier’s entire unit came out to say their farewells. There were several delays during the evening, but we finally were able to honor the serviceman with an “Honor Walk” for his family. This was one of the most emotional and difficult shoots I’ve ever had. However, Sue stood strong with the family and never left their side. She even checked up with me to make sure I was OK. It was nearly midnight when I left the hospital, but Sue was still with the family.
Needless to say, over the years, I have remained extremely impressed with Sue’s courage, love, and devotion to the hospital, its patients, and their families. I can’t think of a better example of a true hero than this! When I see Sue on the floors, I think of how lucky we are to have such an incredible nurse, but more importantly, how lucky our patients are to have Sue for their nurse. I would like to recognize Sue Van Deventer with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.