Betty Halvorson is one of the most compassionate nurses I’ve known, not just to patients, but to us nurses. She is very hard-working and goes above and beyond her duties. She hustles and bustles every day and always presents herself with a cheerful disposition even through hard and long hours of shifts. She made me feel at ease and welcomed on my first day here at TMMC. She gave me all the tools I needed to make it through my orientation days. She always makes sure that all of us are updated with new things and what’s going on in the work area. She’s truly an amazing nurse and one of the best.

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I have worked with Betty prior to her becoming our CNS for the unit. I was really excited when she became our full time CNS. I have worked with her on other projects and we had a wonderfully productive time together. She is a constant source of information and support for our unit. If you need a moment to chat or vent something, she is always here for us. She has all the answers and if she doesn’t, she will get it for us. She loves what she does and practically lives on our unit. She comes in early and many times does not leave until 9 pm every night. She comes in on weekends too. She’s always here with a smile or a tissue if you need it. Our manager and she make a fantastic supportive team. She always grabs me to help out on teaching ventures and to assist with all kinds of teaching needs for the unit. She knows I love to teach. If there are critical events going on in the unit, she’s right there by our side helping us with the patient if we need help. She makes our days a lot more tolerable when all is going crazy, because we know she’s always there to support us. I don’t know what else to say, except she’s “The Bomb”, and our unit couldn’t run as it does without her.

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Ever since Betty started with us, way back on 5 Tower, she has worked consistently and tirelessly to better our units and I believe there have been good results. In addition, her positive “can-do” attitude is beneficial for all she comes in contact with. In addition, she is also in charge of our new grad program and our new grads are extremely well prepared when they finally hit the floors on their own. This is a direct result of Betty’s continuous efforts to make sure everything they need to know and learn is covered and that they are fully confident with their skills. Betty truly is a DAISY Nurse Leader. 

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In my entire 7 years of nursing, I have never worked with somebody as passionate and hard working as Ms. Betty. She just loves her job so much that you see her early morning, or late at night, even on weekends very focused on her work. I believe that she possesses if not surpasses the qualities of a DAISY Nurse Leader. She supports her staff. She provides a supportive environment for staff members to try new skills. She teaches the correct methods that will allow us to develop skills to be more effective and efficient nurses. She acts as our mentor. She always teaches us new skills, equipment, tests/procedures, new EBN learning, and is always available whenever we have questions on anything nursing-related. She teaches in a way that is tailored to our best comprehension. She inspires and encourages. She keeps our staff motivated. Ms. Betty was the one who inspired and gave me the motivation to get my Medical-Surgical Certification. She always reminds the staff to never stop learning and go for continuous education. She gave me her trust and the opportunity to precept new grads. It is such an honor that she recognizes my capabilities. She is also always Onward & Upward. Her main goal is centered on safety and excellence in patient care. She encourages staff to have empathy with patients, and understand their needs and their health and well-being to provide progressive, excellent care. She gets every opportunity to motivate people by recognizing their worth, services, or contributions. Her dedication to her work and TMMC is outstanding. Her heart for nursing is remarkable and her expertise in the field is top-notch! She is a wonderful person and truly a blessing from above. We look up to her just like a mother, and we just love her! We are beyond thankful for everything she is doing for the unit and the staff. 

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At Torrance Memorial, we are very fortunate to have several extraordinary leaders. Over the fourteen years that I have been employed here, I have experienced working with several each day. There is one on whom I would like to shine a very deserving light, Miss Betty L. Halvorson. I remember getting glimpses of Miss Betty years ago when she was the CNS for TCU. She seemed to be a very busy lady, always gaining knowledge, and finding different ways to share it with her TCU staff. A few years later, Miss Betty would become the CNS who would help my unit. Fast forward about five years. Miss Betty has not slowed down one bit. She works tirelessly to ensure that we are kept abreast with changes in trends and practice, and always suffers from Evidence-Based Practice Fever! I remember one morning, a few months ago, Miss Betty had not shown up to work. I became very worried, and place several phone calls to her cell phone. I stayed on standby, eagerly awaiting her call, I knew it was unlike her to miss even one day of work, or miss 2/2 weekend days (thankfully, she was fine). Miss Betty continues to show interest in each staff members' clinical practice and advancement and is ALWAYS eager to help. With my unit's recent transition from a med/surg to a Tele unit, Miss Betty stayed committed and ensured that we had the training that we needed for a safe transition. Each morning that I work, she prints important e-mails, and makes an attempt to round on our Tele patients with me, and when she cannot, I can tell that she wishes that she could, but also that she trusts and feels confident that I will do a wonderful job without her. Without Miss Betty, I strongly believe that my unit would have much more struggles. She definitely makes it a lot easier to find, easier to do, easier to complete, easier to understand, and easier to want to do it again. Miss Betty is a gem, I am proud of her each day, and I am grateful to have her as my CNS, and a lot more.

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Betty is a great example of a leader; is passionate about her job and it shows with her involvement at TMMC.

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Betty is dedicated and hardworking. She even works on the weekend to follow up and ensure that staff education is up to date. For me, she's the best CNS.