Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Best 2017 Nurse
Lee Bower, LPN at Benton County Dialysis Center and winner of the NWA Democrat-Gazette’s 2017 Best Nurse award.
Read about Bower and the 2nd and 3rd place winners plus see the list of all nurses nominated inside,
Growing up in Iowa in late 1960, Leila “Lee” Bower already knew what her life’s ambition was. Without a doubt, she wanted to help people and make their lives better.
She found no better way than to become a nurse.
In her 45 years of service, Bower has always been attentive to patient needs and has always tried to go the extra mile to put a smile on their faces. Whether simply holding a hand or hand-making one of her special birthday cards, she accomplishes her mission on daily basis.
For her devout devotion to her job, she has been named the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s winner for Best Nurse of 2017.
“I could not have won this honor if I wouldn’t have worked with so many wonderful nurses and wonderful techs, throughout the years, especially in dialysis,” Bower said with a bright smile. “It’s very much a team effort. I’ll come in and just try to be a part of the team and do my job. But if the others did not do such a great job, it would not be as good as it is.”
Bower attended LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1970, graduating in 1971. She then began her career at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, working in the psychiatric unit for ve years.
“I made the decision to become a nurse when I was in high school, after working as a CNA (Certi ed Nursing Assistant) one summer, and part of the school year as a candy-striper,” she said. “I always was going to be a nurse, because I wanted to work with people and help people. At that time it seemed like the RNs (Registerd Nurses) dealt more with paperwork and the LPNs dealt more with the patients, so that’s why I chose to be an LPN.”
On Nov. 29, 1976, she moved to Northwest Arkansas and began working at Washington Regional Medical Center, in labor and delivery, where she spent the next 30 years. In 2006, she transferred over to the Benton County Dialysis Center, which is part of the Dialysis Center of NW Arkansas and the Washington Regional Medical System.
“She is an excellent nurse who provides excellent patient care and ensures patients are taken care of well,” said fellow nurse Tracy Shoemake. “She even goes the extra mile to hand make birthday and Christmas cards for each patient in our clinic, for which they are very appreciative.”
Bower hand-made nearly 500 cards last year alone, always remembered patient’s birthdays and then again at Christmas time. After getting divorced a few years ago, and suffering from a bit of boredom, she attending a class offered at the Jones Center in Springdale, and learned to make cards. And with her planned retirement later this summer, she has also promised to leave behind 150 cards to distribute throughout the remainder of the year.
“Here (at the Dialysis Center), birthdays are important because it has usually been a hard year for our patients,” Bower said. “It is something that should be celebrated, and I do this to make each patient feel special.”
Putting that smile on a patient’s face is all the reward that she needs.
“Lee always shows her caring and concern for her patients, and made my birthday very special,” said Steve Rice, a patient at the Dialysis Center. “On her own time, Lee took the time to make me a personalized birthday card. Knowing that I’m a big Razorback fan, the card had a Hog on it, and she had all the other staff sign the card. Really made me feel good and made for a better birthday.”
Bower has also spearheaded another special project, a Memory Book, at the center, to remember past patients.
“After I was here for about a year and a half, I realized how we would forget people’s names, and even though our patents are important to us, we would remember who they were, but sometimes forget their names,” she said “Our patients become our friends. So I started keeping a list, then this year we started putting the names in a binder, so we can go back every year and remember the people that we got to know very well. If we lose a patient, usually their obituaries and those kinds of things go in there.”
Bower generally arrives to work about 5:45 each morning, getting the machines ready and setting up things for the patients. The rst patients arrive at 6:30 a.m. and are hooked up for treatment, usually three to four hours. She spends that time with them, making sure they get their proper medication and keeps an eye on their vital signs. She leaves at 4:30 everyday hoping that she was able to make someone’s day better.
“None of these extra tasks that Lee does are required and sometimes go without a thank you, but that has never affected her desire to continue doing these acts of kindness that she does, simply because it comes from the heart,” said Kara Willis, a social worker at the Dialysis Center. ” And that’s a service that insurance or money could never pay for.”