Barb LeQuire
April 2019
Barb
Lequire
,
MSN, PNP, CNS, CENP
Patient Care Services
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Torrance
,
CA
United States
Barb is a woman of her word, shares her stories, understands our difficult positions, and is constantly checking in with what can she do to make our job easier in any way.
Over her last 40 years at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, Barb LeQuire has brought her passion for nursing practice, laughter, and joy to her patients, families, and team. She started her career as a NICU nurse providing high-quality care to her patients and transitioning into roles as a NICU CNS and Manager as a continuation of her zest for clinical expertise in practice. As the Director of Clinical Education, she supported the talented members of this department, creating new programs and structures to support our staff development and escalating patient care requirements.
An example of Barb’s vision and determination to improve our new graduate nurse experience and retention was the partnership of Versant (now New Graduate program) and Torrance Memorial; this program produced over 600 nurses to date in our facility. The contributions of these nurses are profound. The nursing leadership team and the entire enterprise of nursing 1300 strongly feel her positive influence as Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer.
Barb has led the way for two Magnet designations over her time in these leadership roles and has worked tirelessly to provide the foundation for the future of Magnet in the organization. Barb has taught us to laugh often, be quick with a smile and provide a kind word of encouragement whenever we can to each other. She has demonstrated grace, strength, and courage and inspired us to do the same.
***
As one of our nurses in L&D received this amazing honor the other day, I looked over at Barb and felt moved by how honored she always is when she presents this to nurses. She is so proud that one of “her” nurses was recognized for going above and beyond for patients and families. By “her” I mean each and every one of us nurses here at Torrance Memorial. When I think of what being an inspirational and impactful leader means to me, Barb possesses each one of those qualities.
Personally being a nurse here at TMMC for almost 20 years, I have always seen Barb as a leader in not only a formal capacity but also as someone who always humbly lead by example in whatever title she had. Barb has always included the whole team in all of her remarkable professional accomplishments. She exudes a positive attitude that makes all of the Leaders at TMMC want to give their very best. She listens and hears the concerns we have and takes action. She is a woman of her word, shares her stories, understands our difficult positions, and is constantly checking in with what can she do to make our job easier in any way. I believe I can speak for all of the Managers of how much we looked forward to the email for our “Quarterly Meeting with Barb”. It was a safe place where we all felt valued, supported, and able to speak freely about any of our concerns. She always kept us in the loop of changes coming up, expectations she had for us, and how proud she was of our Leadership team.
Since we learned of her actual retirement date, I have so many times heard her say, we are in such a good place because of all of you or this is the strongest our Leadership team has ever been. I truly believe that anyone in the organization could reach out to her for advice, concerns, and clarity. I have never heard her speak badly of anyone. She always has a smile and could see her face completely light up when she was excited about something happening in our organization, but nothing compared to when she told us what her next role in life was going to be. Don’t get me wrong though, her grit, persistence, and fierce personality would not be what I wanted to be on the wrong side of. She has a very high standard of what she expects from herself and all of us. She could gracefully counter anyone whom she needs to when advocating for the right thing to do. Please accept my nomination of truly a great Leader we all admire, trust, and love.
An example of Barb’s vision and determination to improve our new graduate nurse experience and retention was the partnership of Versant (now New Graduate program) and Torrance Memorial; this program produced over 600 nurses to date in our facility. The contributions of these nurses are profound. The nursing leadership team and the entire enterprise of nursing 1300 strongly feel her positive influence as Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer.
Barb has led the way for two Magnet designations over her time in these leadership roles and has worked tirelessly to provide the foundation for the future of Magnet in the organization. Barb has taught us to laugh often, be quick with a smile and provide a kind word of encouragement whenever we can to each other. She has demonstrated grace, strength, and courage and inspired us to do the same.
***
As one of our nurses in L&D received this amazing honor the other day, I looked over at Barb and felt moved by how honored she always is when she presents this to nurses. She is so proud that one of “her” nurses was recognized for going above and beyond for patients and families. By “her” I mean each and every one of us nurses here at Torrance Memorial. When I think of what being an inspirational and impactful leader means to me, Barb possesses each one of those qualities.
Personally being a nurse here at TMMC for almost 20 years, I have always seen Barb as a leader in not only a formal capacity but also as someone who always humbly lead by example in whatever title she had. Barb has always included the whole team in all of her remarkable professional accomplishments. She exudes a positive attitude that makes all of the Leaders at TMMC want to give their very best. She listens and hears the concerns we have and takes action. She is a woman of her word, shares her stories, understands our difficult positions, and is constantly checking in with what can she do to make our job easier in any way. I believe I can speak for all of the Managers of how much we looked forward to the email for our “Quarterly Meeting with Barb”. It was a safe place where we all felt valued, supported, and able to speak freely about any of our concerns. She always kept us in the loop of changes coming up, expectations she had for us, and how proud she was of our Leadership team.
Since we learned of her actual retirement date, I have so many times heard her say, we are in such a good place because of all of you or this is the strongest our Leadership team has ever been. I truly believe that anyone in the organization could reach out to her for advice, concerns, and clarity. I have never heard her speak badly of anyone. She always has a smile and could see her face completely light up when she was excited about something happening in our organization, but nothing compared to when she told us what her next role in life was going to be. Don’t get me wrong though, her grit, persistence, and fierce personality would not be what I wanted to be on the wrong side of. She has a very high standard of what she expects from herself and all of us. She could gracefully counter anyone whom she needs to when advocating for the right thing to do. Please accept my nomination of truly a great Leader we all admire, trust, and love.