Donors elevating nursing excellence at Baptist Health Paducah

At Baptist Health Paducah, donors are transforming care from the inside out. 

Thanks to the support of the Nurse Excellence Fund, nurses are gaining access to professional development opportunities that not only expand their skills, but also directly enhance patient care. Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Riley, DNP, sees the impact every day. 

“We know when our nurses have additional education and professional development, they have ways they can learn new skills and practices that really impact our bedside patient care,” Marilyn shared. “They actually can provide better care because they learn about new ways to do things in a much more effective way.” 

That kind of impact was especially clear when 14 Baptist Health Paducah nurses recently attended the Pathway to Excellence Conference – an experience fully funded by donors through the Nurse Excellence Fund. For most of those nurses, it was their very first national conference. 

“They had never been exposed to that level of networking, education and innovation,” Marilyn. “Being able to provide that for our nurses really gives them a whole new perspective on patient care and quality.” 

The fund helps ensure that nurses stay at the leading edge of healthcare, equipped with the tools and training to deliver the best outcomes for their patients. That investment radiates throughout the hospital, into the community, and into the homes of friends and neighbors. 

“Our nurses are often caring for people they go to church with, their family members, their neighbors,” Marilyn said. “So, their wellness impacts the wellness overall.” 

For Marilyn, supporting nurses means supporting the entire community. 

“Nursing is the backbone of healthcare, and supporting our nurses is so important,” she emphasized. “In order for us to continue that pipeline of qualified nurses, it’s important to support the nurses that we have today and those nurses in the future. The care that we provide is paramount.” 

She credits the Nurse Excellence Fund and its generous donors for making that possible. 

“We are so blessed to have such generous donors, and I really appreciate their willingness to support nursing – to support new ideas, innovation, equipment, education,” she said. “It makes us better nurses. It makes us a better hospital and it makes us a better community.”