Sally Wagner
December 2024
Sally
Wagner
,
RN
Administrative Supervisor
Essentia Health Fargo
Fargo
,
ND
United States
Sally always seemed to have a reserve of inner strength that kept her going both physically and mentally. She managed to maintain a positive attitude despite the circumstances—staffing challenges, heavy patient loads, busy shifts, difficult patient-family relations, and advocating for the unit.
Not many people can say they came with the building anymore. Sally Wagner is one of the few nurses, let alone staff members, left who has been at Essentia Health Fargo since the beginning. She was the charge nurse on the ICU unit for years, even earning her CCRN, before taking her role in the Administrative Supervisor/One Call office and most recently has taken a PRN position in the CHF Clinic to help out. Her years of knowledge and experience have helped the sickest patients and guided other nurses to give the best of their ability to help serve others.
When Essentia Health joined forces with the DAISY Foundation, Sally eagerly volunteered to donate the cinnamon rolls for the monthly celebrations. Years later, Sally still helps out the DAISY Committee by donating funds on Giving Hearts Day. Partly due to her donations, we were able to purchase the beautiful DAISY recognition display in the lower-level atrium at 32H.
Sally is a social butterfly, and when our team gets together outside of work, you can expect to see her there! She has even hosted team gatherings at her lake place!
One nurse shares her experience with Sally. Stating, "Not many people are left in the building who remember Sally as our night charge nurse in Critical Care, but those were most of my experiences with her, and I’m excited to share my thoughts with hope that she is recognized for the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award!
In 2004, I was fresh out of nursing school and started my career here in Critical Care. I worked mostly night shifts, where I first met Sally, who was usually our charge nurse. I quickly learned to appreciate her when she was my charge—Sally’s style was always involved, engaged, and ready for action!
Keep in mind that Critical Care, at that time, was very different. There was not an intensivist in-house 24/7 to help with orders, procedures, family reassurance and questions, codes, and troubleshooting these delicate patients. At the time, I was naive to the expectations and responsibilities that fell on Sally’s shoulders in addition to orienting us new grads on nights. I think back on some of the situations we handled with her leadership and am in awe at the graceful way she managed them.
Like any new nurse, I asked a lot of questions, going to her often for reassurance, a double check, or even to ask how to say something to a patient’s family member. I thought I was probably asking too much too often, and she told me she would start to worry if I DIDN’T ask questions. She told me that if I went ahead and did a bunch of stuff on my own and NEVER asked anything, that would be a different problem! In all my questioning, I never once felt like a nuisance, she would always stop, even when clearly busy, and give her full attention.
Sally also challenged us to think critically about our patients, to look at the whole picture, flip through the chart (paper charting at the time), and read the notes so we knew what was going on and why. One night, she reminded me that I’d just paid for 4 years of higher education in my brain, and now I needed to use it!
As with any ICU, difficult decisions and high emotion were commonplace. I watched as she would go from comforting a patient’s family members in the waiting room, only to turn around and have to comfort or console us nurses. Sally always seemed to have a reserve of inner strength that kept her going both physically and mentally. She managed to maintain a positive attitude despite the circumstances—staffing challenges, heavy patient loads, busy shifts, difficult patient-family relations, and advocating for the unit. She was the definition of professionalism, whether handling staff, patient, or physician issues and never shied away from direct communication that was kind but got to the point.
My career as an ICU nurse lasted only 2 years, but I never forgot Sally or the lessons I learned either from her or watching her. She was an example to me of what charge nursing should look like—that fine balance between hovering mom and kicking the kids out of the nest!
After 12 years on cardiac/stepdown units, I joined the AS/OC office and had the joy of working with Sally again. I can verify that she has not slowed down, lost her spunk, or failed to keep us grounded in reality! I only had 2 years around Sally in CCU, and I think of the lasting impression she made on me in my own career. I think back on all the nurses who worked nights with her in the lead and am confident I’m not the only one who appreciated her. She continues to rise to the challenges faced in the AS/OC office, and I hope she can be recognized for her contributions with this award.
When Essentia Health joined forces with the DAISY Foundation, Sally eagerly volunteered to donate the cinnamon rolls for the monthly celebrations. Years later, Sally still helps out the DAISY Committee by donating funds on Giving Hearts Day. Partly due to her donations, we were able to purchase the beautiful DAISY recognition display in the lower-level atrium at 32H.
Sally is a social butterfly, and when our team gets together outside of work, you can expect to see her there! She has even hosted team gatherings at her lake place!
One nurse shares her experience with Sally. Stating, "Not many people are left in the building who remember Sally as our night charge nurse in Critical Care, but those were most of my experiences with her, and I’m excited to share my thoughts with hope that she is recognized for the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award!
In 2004, I was fresh out of nursing school and started my career here in Critical Care. I worked mostly night shifts, where I first met Sally, who was usually our charge nurse. I quickly learned to appreciate her when she was my charge—Sally’s style was always involved, engaged, and ready for action!
Keep in mind that Critical Care, at that time, was very different. There was not an intensivist in-house 24/7 to help with orders, procedures, family reassurance and questions, codes, and troubleshooting these delicate patients. At the time, I was naive to the expectations and responsibilities that fell on Sally’s shoulders in addition to orienting us new grads on nights. I think back on some of the situations we handled with her leadership and am in awe at the graceful way she managed them.
Like any new nurse, I asked a lot of questions, going to her often for reassurance, a double check, or even to ask how to say something to a patient’s family member. I thought I was probably asking too much too often, and she told me she would start to worry if I DIDN’T ask questions. She told me that if I went ahead and did a bunch of stuff on my own and NEVER asked anything, that would be a different problem! In all my questioning, I never once felt like a nuisance, she would always stop, even when clearly busy, and give her full attention.
Sally also challenged us to think critically about our patients, to look at the whole picture, flip through the chart (paper charting at the time), and read the notes so we knew what was going on and why. One night, she reminded me that I’d just paid for 4 years of higher education in my brain, and now I needed to use it!
As with any ICU, difficult decisions and high emotion were commonplace. I watched as she would go from comforting a patient’s family members in the waiting room, only to turn around and have to comfort or console us nurses. Sally always seemed to have a reserve of inner strength that kept her going both physically and mentally. She managed to maintain a positive attitude despite the circumstances—staffing challenges, heavy patient loads, busy shifts, difficult patient-family relations, and advocating for the unit. She was the definition of professionalism, whether handling staff, patient, or physician issues and never shied away from direct communication that was kind but got to the point.
My career as an ICU nurse lasted only 2 years, but I never forgot Sally or the lessons I learned either from her or watching her. She was an example to me of what charge nursing should look like—that fine balance between hovering mom and kicking the kids out of the nest!
After 12 years on cardiac/stepdown units, I joined the AS/OC office and had the joy of working with Sally again. I can verify that she has not slowed down, lost her spunk, or failed to keep us grounded in reality! I only had 2 years around Sally in CCU, and I think of the lasting impression she made on me in my own career. I think back on all the nurses who worked nights with her in the lead and am confident I’m not the only one who appreciated her. She continues to rise to the challenges faced in the AS/OC office, and I hope she can be recognized for her contributions with this award.