“I wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl – I never had an idea of being anything else,” says RuthAnn Wright, Noble Charge Nurse & Supervisor. RuthAnn began her nursing career at Noble Horizons working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) while attending nursing school full time.
After nursing school graduation, RuthAnn held some per diem positions at various hospitals and quickly realized she was meant to work with the elderly population. “I remember working as a nurse in an ICU unit taking care of a terminal cancer patient who was in her early 20s – my age. When she passed away, that was very hard on me, and I knew this part of the nursing field was not for me.”
RuthAnn returned to Noble Horizons and has worked in almost every department. When asked if she had a favorite, she quickly smiled and noted she just wants to feel needed and know she is making a difference. Nursing for her is all about the feeling she gets inside when she leaves after her shift knowing she made a difference in the lives of the residents she works with every day.
Prior to the pandemic, RuthAnn left Noble to work as the Director of Nursing at High Watch– a resident addiction treatment center in Kent CT. Beyond working with the elderly, RuthAnn has a passion for helping people through recovery and sobriety. As a prior High Watch resident celebrating her own sobriety, RuthAnn thought the position would be a great opportunity for her. “I love the mission at High Watch, but I found that I didn’t love the role as Director of Nursing – it’s a 24-hour job, very stressful and it’s more administrative than patient-facing – I decided to leave and come back to Noble Horizons as a charge nurse where I could work 1:1 with the residents again.”
RuthAnn considered working in hospice because she feels how you treat the end of life is so important, but she feels dealing with death versus healing on a daily basis may be too difficult. For her, the joy comes in making people feel better, watching them heal, and knowing she is part of a team that collaborates to ensure every resident is getting the best care possible.
The grass isn’t greener
RuthAnn has been in the nursing profession since 1998 during that time worked as a per diem nurse at a variety of hospitals and nursing facilities – and she realized that Noble Horizons is quite different from any other. “There is a stark difference between Noble Horizons and other senior living communities or hospitals – not only are the residents happy but so is the staff!” says RuthAnn. She when on to note that at Noble it’s a team effort – the entire nursing staff works collaboratively to problem solve and determine what is the best solution for each individual resident. That collaboration is a big reason the quality of care is so exceptional at Noble Horizons.
Nurses like RuthAnn Wright make Noble Horizons a special place to live and work. Making the residents smile, knowing the little things make a huge difference – that “feeling inside” Noble nurses have when they leave their shift for the day is what we call “The Art of Caring”.