Lori’s story: Welcoming the next generation

Caregiver health nurse shares why she’s passionate about helping ease the way of new caregivers.

For some, a workplace is just one stop along a career path. For others, it becomes a second home. This is especially true for Lori McKenzie, an associate caregiver health RN at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (PRMCE).

Lori’s invitation to join Providence came at the perfect time. Weeks before she graduated from nursing school at Everett Community College, a charge nurse at PRMCE offered her a job. After graduation, Lori began to learn the ropes of working in the hospital as a graduate nurse in the Nursing residency program while she waited the obligatory three months to take her board exams and get her license.

“They took my hand and welcomed me into nursing,” Lori remembers. “I turned 21 working on the floor and have been here ever since. I’ve spent more years with Providence in my life than without it.”

Over the past three decades, Lori says she's had the privilege of working in a variety of care settings throughout the medical center. She gained experience in orthopedics, neurology, general surgery, patient safety, and radiation oncology, just to name a few. In each role, Lori learned the ins and outs of care. Along the way, she made friends, many of whom still work at Providence and she sees regularly as she rounds on different floors. She even met her husband on the job – a fellow caregiver, now retired, who worked in the security department for 21 years. For Lori, Providence is truly her second home. “If I’m not at home, I’m here. This is my other home,” Lori said.

In her current role in caregiver health, Lori helps new caregivers feel at home at Providence.

“I get to meet every new person on my schedule during their new hire health screening at Providence,” Lori says. “I share with them what they can expect, and I try to do my best to give them what I received as a new caregiver. When I walk them down to their new hire lab draw, they sometimes say they didn’t expect this good of an appointment.”

When Lori is off the clock, she finds comfort in the rhythm of country life: living on a small farm with her husband of 18 years, where she raises chickens and tends to her large vegetable garden while residing in the house her grandparents built in 1923. She is also a devoted trainer and team member to her four dogs in agility competitions, where she continues to flex her nurturing spirit and commitment to helping others—whether on two legs or four.

For Lori, that’s really what it’s all about – making a positive difference in the lives of those around her.