In our Celebration Corner this week, Wadley Regional Medical Center at Hope is celebrating Bailey Yocom White, BSN RN, for awards she recently earned because of her exemplary patient care and treatment in the ER. Bailey was awarded the Stroke Champion Bronze Club and a Certificate of Excellence from UAMS Institute for Digital Health and Innovation, formerly known as Arkansas Saves. Both awards are for her ability to recognize symptoms and administer emergency treatment for possible strokes in patients.

One of the most remarkable things about Bailey’s accomplishments is that she has been a nurse for only about a year. This SAU graduate began her journey into patient care after Thanksgiving just last year. The praise from patients ensued immediately and has continued to pour in, as well as applause from her coworkers and supervisors. Bailey has been described as a knowledgeable, hard-working nurse with a kind and generous bedside manner which instantly puts her patients at ease. ER Director Christie Waller says Bailey has an innate talent for nursing and that becoming a Bronze Champion is a rare accomplishment for even the most experienced of nurses. “She is an awesome nurse,” Waller says. “She works extra and lends a hand whenever needed, and patients compliment her often about how well she treats them. This hospital needs a nurse like her to provide services; she has definitely become an asset to Wadley at Hope.” 

Wadley is designated as a "stroke-ready" hospital, so nurses with Bailey’s skills are essential for stabilizing stroke patients before transport to a larger facility. She earned these specific awards because, twice, Bailey was able to quickly recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke in a patient and skillfully administer proper treatment in the timely manner required. Sometimes it can be difficult for stroke patients to receive the necessary treatment because they may not know they are having a stroke, so they either don’t seek medical treatment or they are unsure when symptoms started. Fortunately, on both of these occasions, the patients had Bailey attending to their care, and she was able to recognize the symptoms right away and proceed with the proper protocol. 

Yet, Bailey remains humble in the face of her accomplishments and credits her co-workers for these accolades. “It’s a team effort,” she says. “Any success I achieve is only possible because of the people I work with. I couldn’t have done it without them.” Bailey says she knew early on that she wanted to be a nurse when she would help her grandmother care for her great-grandmother. When asked what motivates her to maintain that nurturing presence each and every day, she replied, “I get to be the light during someone’s dark times. When people come into the ER, they aren’t feeling well: they could be in pain or feeling scared. Then I’ll figure out what's wrong with them and reassure them that they are going to be okay. I get to give them the help they need and make them feel better.” 

Well, Bailey’s light shines bright and the community is reaping the benefits. She says she is fortunate to be able to take the skills in which she was trained and bring them home. “I just want to give back to the community and people who have supported me my whole life,” she says. She does it well. With her recent awards, in addition to the multiple compliments from her patients, it’s no hard task to visualize the promising career on Bailey’s horizon. More is sure to come from this rising star, and this week we join Wadley Regional Medical Center in celebrating Bailey Yocom White.