Submitted by: PeaceHealth
Nursing was the clear vocation for Betty James, RN, for as long as she can remember. “There was nothing else I was ever going to do,” she shared. “I’ve always enjoyed taking care of people. I’m the one in my family who wanted to do things to help others and make them happy.”

The middle of five children, Betty was a natural caregiver. Whenever one of her siblings got a wound or splinter, she was eager to treat it. When her older brother became ill with cancer, she helped care for him until he passed away at the age of 16—when she was just 10 years old.
Betty enrolled in the Central Washington Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing and became a nurse at what is now PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center on July 6, 1970. Nearly 49 years later, Betty is PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center’s nurse with the longest tenure.
PeaceHealth would like to publicly recognize Betty as she brings her professional nursing career to a close, officially ending her position as nurse team lead of the Short Stay Unit (SSU) and entering the uncharted territory of retirement.
A living history of PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
Betty is a wealth of knowledge and a source of rich historical perspective about the hospital. Her stories illustrate the many changes that have taken place over the past five decades.
Betty describes the strong presence of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace and aptly characterizes their distinct personalities. She recalls the days when the hospital was “way out in the country,” when nurses rounded with physicians and used color-coded notations for medications that were poured from bottles into labeled cups. Betty’s vivid descriptions of her early nursing years are captivating for nurses who entered the healthcare industry in a different day and age.
A clear legacy
Betty offers much more than historical perspective. She’s a skilled nurse who continues to inspire her colleagues.

Nurse Manager Lisa Pecic, MCJ, BSN, said, “Betty is the kind of nurse we all strive to be—compassionate, smiling, dedicated and always advocating for the patient and family. She will be greatly missed in the Short Stay Unit for her knowledge, leadership and amazing work ethic.”
Lysa Zandstra, RN, nurse team lead (NTL), shared, “In the last ten years of working with Betty on the SSU, she is my person I go to for advice and expertise in working with patients. She is an accomplished IV starter and is always the one to get in the most difficult starts the first time.” (This fact was repeated by many other caregivers on the unit.)
Lysa added, “I will miss seeing her smiling face every morning. She has been a great example of the NTL I want to be, and I feel privileged to have been able to work with her.”
Preparing for the next chapter
When asked for advice, Betty shared two pearls of wisdom: Always remember to take care of yourself (a lesson she admits she had to learn the hard way as someone who is a giver by nature) and make sure to take the time to truly listen to others.

Betty knows that the timing is right for retirement, but she will greatly miss the patients and caregivers of PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. “I’ve gotten to know so many patients over the years, and my co-workers are like family,” she said.
Her identity will shift as she’s no longer a professional nurse, but Betty hopes to fill her time with sewing, quilting, completing yardwork and spending time with her five grandchildren.
Perhaps some baking is also in her future. Lysa joked, “Betty makes the most wonderful treats. We hope that she will still come to the SSU to visit and share some of those wonderful treats with us.”
Celebrating Betty
The entire caregiver community of PeaceHealth Bellingham wishes Betty a happy retirement.
Though she’ll no longer officially be a nurse, Betty will undoubtedly continue to serve others with great kindness, humility and grace.