Lisa (Ihnen) Surratt, RN, Intensive Care, Blessing Hospital, retires June 1, after 44 years of service.
Losing her mother when Lisa was 8 years old motivated her to become a nurse. Her career began at St. Mary Hospital in Quincy in 1978 after graduating from John Wood Community College’s nursing program. In 1991, Lisa earned her Associate of Science degree in Nursing from Hannibal LaGrange College and began her career in Intensive Care Unit nursing. In addition to caring for patients and families, Lisa has shared her experience, skill and compassion as a preceptor to new nurses and nursing students in ICU over the years.
Faith keeps Lisa positive in the face of the suffering of critically ill patients and their loved ones. It is her education and experience that allow her to stay calm, a word people use to describe Lisa.
“People don’t see what is going on inside my head,” she said. “In intensive care you are always trying to think ahead of what could go wrong. You know what is happening right then. But if you stop there, then you are going to miss something.”
“I have seen a lot of changes in the nursing field. But the basic care and human needs of a patient and family member are unchanged. Those needs are what has kept me at the bedside all these years,” Lisa concluded.
A Golden, Illinois native and resident of Mt. Sterling, Lisa will remain active in retirement as a member of the Adams-Brown Nurse Honor Guard serving at the funerals of deceased nurses in the area; giving talks on her passion for making end-of-life decisions and advocating for people to share their end-of-life healthcare treatment wishes with their providers and loved ones as part of the work of her non-profit, Hope Through Faith Ministries; and working with her husband Steve in broadcasting Brown County sports on YouTube.