Legend shines in acute care at CCH

A nurse enters a person’s life most often because they are sick and need help instead of by their own choice.

“I feel we are granted a privilege to be able to care for them in their time of their greatest need. That is asking a lot of the patient to put their trust in a stranger’s hands, what other career can someone be granted that amount of trust and faith,” says Sherry Bailey, CCRN, BSN, RN. “We come into their lives at possibly the worst time and help to get them back to their daily life. How lucky I feel that I can and could be a part of something that amazing.”

Sherry, the Director of Acute Care in Nursing Administration at CCH, has been a highly engaged leader for more than 10 years and has provided excellent patient care for 30 years. Sherry was recently awarded Campbell County Health’s most prestigious award, the Legend Award. For those who don't know, CCH defined a Legend as:

Those people who have left an indelible impression on our minds because of their deeds and actions. Ongoing demonstration of hard work, compassion, and a reputation for greatness make someone a legend.

Nominated by Legend Tanya Allee, Patient Experience Manager, and Laura Castellanos, Medical/Surgical and ICU Nurse Manager, who say that Sherry has an innate ability to relate to others and provide exceptional compassionate care.

“She actively listens to patients, families as well as co-workers and engages with them to assure she is always operating within their best interests,” says Tanya. “Sherry is a kind and caring leader with an extreme desire to serve and does so with empathy compassion daily.”

Sherry says she was a late bloomer into a career in health care.

“I knew I wanted a career that would make a difference in others’ lives and lucky for me Gillette College offered a nursing degree. This allowed me to stay home with my husband and children and obtain my RN degree. Becoming a nurse is one of the best decisions I have made in my life,” she says.

Sherry earned her associate’s degree in nursing from Gillette College, and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Chamberlain University. She also earned her national critical care nurse (CCRN) through the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She was hired as a nurse in the ICU at Campbell County Memorial Hospital, and has spent the last 30 years working in healthcare at CCH.

“Although my role as a nurse has changed I am still a nurse instead of caring for patients directly I now have the responsibility of caring and leading those who care for our patients,” she says.

Sherry says that receiving the Legend Award is humbling.

“The award also belongs to my husband and children. They put up with me working long hours, shift work, my stress usually from things I could not share or explain and last but most important they helped me with my homework and the house work when I was going to school. This award is truly an honor and also raises the bar even higher for myself. I am very grateful to those who nominated me,” she says.

According to the nomination form: “Sherry is a very engaged leader who actively participates and shares feedback within all interactions and groups regardless of the size. She is not afraid to share her thoughts, voice concern and offer feedback. She is also very open to feedback from others for her own personal and professional growth as well as the growth of her team and units. Sherry role models excellence every day tactics to her teams and co-workers, and graciously holds others accountable. Sherry is an incredible teammate who will step in and help out wherever she can within her means. Sherry inspires others to be their best daily and is one of those leaders who makes others stand taller in her presence.”

Sherry says that CCH gave her the chance to become the type of nurse she wanted to be.

“I have been supported and mentored by so many of the people who I have worked with throughout the years. I like that CCH is always willing to help people grow either in their current role or to change career paths if desired. I truly believe that CCH always tries to provide the best care and puts the patients first,” she says.

Sherry is an avid supporter of her family and the Campbell County, Wyoming community. She raised her three children here, and now enjoys her grandkids growing up here. Her grand parenting ventures allow her to be a spectator and fan rallying at football, baseball, soccer games and wrestling matches as well as swim competitions.

Knowing how important family is, Sherry is a strong supporter of her staff’s families, extracurricular activities and hobbies, and takes a particular interest in her community of nurse’s and healthcare workers.

“She is often seen listening, sharing and catching up on her staff’s hunting stories, vacation plans and child rearing stories. She even makes a point to send newspaper images to her staff as soon as she sees their kids make the paper,” says Laura. “A mentor to so many, Sherry has had a unique opportunity to observe her teams grow up in this community. She is a true Legend as she strives to support her staff’s work life balance while leading fostering the local health care workforce’s strengths and talents to maintain long lasting reliable leadership within our organization.”

Sherry says that she believes that her purpose is to provide excellence every day.

“I feel that means that I focus each day with the purpose of doing the best job, no matter the job and that I set others up to succeed as well,” she says. “My actions reflect our organization so it is imperative that I always be the person who I would want if I was a patient or the leader I want leading me.”

Thank you, Sherry for being such a legendary nurse, an courageous leader and a friend to everyone you meet! You have left a permanent impression in this organization and in our community. Congratulations.