Longtime Clovis resident named nurse of the year

CLOVIS — A longtime Clovis resident was recently recognized as the nurse of the year for Interim HealthCare Inc., a national health care provider with over 300 offices and 5,000 nurses around the country.

Rakel Nussbaumer, the director of health care services in Clovis, received the 2019 “Interim HealthCare Nurse of the Year,” handed out annually by the company to coincide with National Nurses Week, May 6-12 this year.

“I’ll tell you I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting to get it,” Nussbaumer said. “Being recognized as nurse of the year is a real honor. It’s really truly amazing that this has happened. Like I said I wasn’t expecting this award, there are so many other nurses that I work with that are just as deserving of this recognition.”

As the director of health care services, Nussbaumer oversees all of the nurses, physical therapists and home health aides with the Clovis office who provide care to patients in their home.

“We take care of an aging population at generally the most vulnerable time in their lives — they’ve fallen or they’ve had a decline — and we really help them gain their independence back and to keep them safe in their homes for as long as possible,” Nussbaumer said.

Twila Rutter, the regional director of operations for Interim HealthCare, said every office in the company can nominate someone for the award, which is based on five qualities: integrity, compassion, customer focus, innovation and financial responsibility.

Rutter said Nussbaumer was selected for the award in part because of her knowledge of the nursing industry and the way she treats her employees.

“She’s an excellent leader and has really put us on the map so to speak as far as great patient outcomes and taking care of our patients and their families,” Rutter said.

“She’s a smart cookie and incredibly compassionate and empathetic to her employees. The clinicians that she works with understand she’s been out in the field. She’s been there. She’s done what they are doing in the home and her compassion when they have an issue in the home is real because she’s been there, done that.”

Nussbaumer, 37, said she was born in Florida and moved to Spain before her father was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base when she was 5, living in Clovis ever since.

“Being a nurse is really hard but yet it’s very rewarding to be able to give back to the community and our patients and I really do love what I do,” Nussbaumer said.