National Nurses Week: Inside the heart of Chaffee Nursing Center with Katie Clover

Chaffee Nursing Center is home to around 100 faculty and staff members. One of these is Katie Clover, a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Clover has worked at the Chaffee Nursing Center for two and a half years.

Clover did not always know what she wanted to do as a career. Growing up, she had no idea what she wanted to do and didn't have a consistent answer when someone asked her.

She said she always has loved taking care of and helping people and learning about the human body and how it works. It made sense for her to go into this career.

Katie Clover interacts with residents of Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee.

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“I was in high school when I first thought about being a nurse. I had an anatomy and physiology class, and I loved it. The teacher told me I would be a great nurse, and from there I started thinking about going to nursing school," she explained.

Clover got her nursing degree from Cape Girardeau Career and Technical Center (CTC). Before starting at the Chaffee Nursing Center, she worked at a pediatrician's office.

“I wanted to choose a job where I could make long-term connections with the people I care for,” she said.

A typical work day for Clover at the center has a wide range of tasks she has to complete, such as getting the report from the previous shift, distributing breakfast/lunch/afternoon/evening medications, completing assessments, performing treatments (such as wound care, flushing catheters or administering creams or powders), answering questions from doctors, charting, completing evening shift treatments, stocking medication carts and then passing information to oncoming shift personnel.

“You get to make long-term connections with the people you care for, but you don't practice as many nursing skills or see a lot of different things working in a nursing home as you would a hospital,” Clover said.

Working at the Chaffee Nursing Center, she notes there are different events and activities the center throws for the residents such as a carnival, opening gifts at Christmas time, volunteer groups who come in and sing to the residents or just other odd events, such as gardening and watching the eclipse.

While there are several great memories the faculty and staff have with the residents of Chaffee Nursing Center, the hardest days and least favorite memories are when a resident passes away, Clover said.

With the Nursing Center being in Chaffee, many of the staff live in or graduated from Chaffee High School. Clover said the closeness of home and the center's quality draw in those who care.

“The environment at the nursing home is great. I have always felt welcomed and cared about as a person. They are very understanding about my need to care for my children and anytime I have had to leave early to tend to one of my kids they have always been understanding. The staff there gets along very well. Of course, every once in a while there are conflicts of interest but we always put the needs and safety of our residents above anything else,” Clover said.

Clover works alongside her sister, Ashley, at the nursing center. She said it can be tricky sometimes but that her sister is the person she goes to when she has questions, because she has been a nurse for a long and is more knowledgeable.

Some advice Clover gives to those looking to become a nurse, whether in a nursing home or a hospital, is to have passion for the work before you make the career choice.

“Make sure you really have the passion for it. Nursing is hard no matter what type of nursing you do. Taking care of others all the time when they can’t take care of themselves is hard, but if you really want to, do it, then, because the world needs more nurses.”