Florida Rue's mother gave her a $100 bill when she graduated from high school in Colorado in 1968 and made her promise to go to college.

“I wondered how I would go to college on $100,” Rue remembered on May 4 as she reflected on a 40-year nursing career and her retirement as director of surgical services for Jefferson Healthcare.

More than 100 current and former colleagues celebrated Rue's successful 28 years at Jefferson Healthcare at an event on May 3 at the Northwest Maritime Center. Under Rue's leadership, the surgical department never failed a state inspection, and in 2013, the hospital was lauded in Consumer Reports as one of the top hospitals in the state to have a surgery.

Thinking of what people said about her at that event brought Rue to tears the following day.

“We go through life not thinking of how our actions or inactions impact people,” Rue said.

“I heard people say I set an example. For them to say that I inspired them professionally was very rewarding to me at the close of my career.

“It was difficult to stand there because I don't like to be the center of attention,” Rue said.

START AT A NURSING HOME

The daughter of a Navaho father and Latina mother, Rue spent the summer after high school earning another $85 as a housekeeper in a nursing home. With money from that job, she was able to attend the Mennonite School of Nursing in La Junta, Colorado. She remembered being on probation for an entire year because she was Catholic, not Mennonite.

Rue went on to earn a bachelor's degree, and spent 20 years at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado. She worked at several other hospitals before accepting a six-month job at Jefferson General Hospital when her husband accepted a job as a pharmacist in Port Angeles.

Six months turned into 28 years.

The two bought a home in Sequim and thus commuted to their respective hospitals. It was not uncommon for Rue to sleep at night at the hospital in Port Townsend, in the same room where she was remembering her long career.

When she first started at Jefferson, she managed a staff of five; by the end of those 28 years, she was managing a staff of 20.

“She's incredible. We all love her,” said colleague Mark McDermott, a surgical technician.

“She started at the bottom and worked her way up with great determination, skill and intelligence,” said surgical desk coordinator Carol Poplasky. “She put everything she had into it.”

“Florida managed the operating room with great care and diligence. She was able to balance the needs of staff, surgeons and administrators with grace and dignity, and always kept the focus on patient care,” said Mike Glenn, Jefferson Healthcare CEO.

“She's a phenomenal person, a fantastic leader. If you spend even a minute with her, you will know that the high-quality care and patient safety are her number-one priority,” said Dr. Joe Mattern, chief medical officer. “She will be missed.”

FOCUS ON PATIENTS

Above all else, it's always been about patient care, said Rue, who admits she got hooked on nursing at that first nursing home, where, in addition to housekeeping, she spent time talking to people.

“I'll miss the patients probably most of all. We have been able to make a difference in their lives,” said Rue.

“When you are giving care to a patient, you want everything to be just right,” she said.

Rue believes that part of what makes Jefferson Healthcare a great place to work – and be cared for – is that people know one another and as a result, care for one another.

“We see patients at the grocery store. They fix my flat tire. I have patients who saw my [retirement] banner and said, 'I can't believe you are leaving.' I've had people who have been born here and now they are having children here.”

Spanish was her first language, so it was not uncommon for Rue to be called upon to help interpret for people in medical need.

“I've labored with these ladies,” she said of being summoned to help in the maternity ward and knowing many of them in the community.

When Spanish-speaking people were in the operating room, it wasn't uncommon for her to whisper a prayer in Spanish as she held their hand, sang to them and reassured them.

It also wasn't uncommon for Rue to be given gifts, although she would always tell people she couldn't accept them, that she had already been paid.

One such gift hangs on the wall of the surgical center. It's a drawing of a ballerina given to her by a patient in the 1980s. The patient likened actions in the surgery room to that of a well-choreographed dance that the surgical staff do every day. Rue used it as a training tool during her tenure at Jefferson Healthcare to teach people the importance of teamwork.

PRAISING OTHERS, PATIENTS

While dozens of people came out to praise Rue for her dedication to patients, Rue would rather turn it back on those who are praising her for her leadership, thanking them.

“The staff are the most professional, most caring and most skilled I have ever worked with. The surgeons ­– I couldn't ask for better surgeons, orthopedics, urology, podiatry, obstetrics and hand surgeons,” Rue said. “I've worked with some of the most phenomenal people. The focus on patient care is the best I've ever seen.

“I love this hospital,” she said, noting that she's worked at five hospitals in her career of more than 40 years.

Rue praised former chief executive officer Vic Dirksen for being a caring man who “had a way with people and believed in the community.”

It was during Dirksen's tenure that Rue moved the surgical center from an older section of the hospital to the newer 1995 building. Rue was on a team that designed the operating room, which has three rooms and space for a fourth. She was happy to have fought for and won more space for each room to allow for more equipment.

Rue also complimented Mike Glenn for being a visionary who she expects will continue to make progress as health care changes.

“After all, change is something to be embraced,” she said.

AND ELSEWHERE

Rue also has ventured outside Jefferson County to care for others.

Rue was part of Medical Mission International, a program that sends surgical teams around the world. She's been to Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic with her husband, Alan Rue, a retired pharmacist; her daughter, Katina, a physician in Yakima; and Port Townsend surgeon Dr. Jay Lawrence.

“I did whatever I had to do, assist the surgeon, Dr. Lawrence, scrub, do the floor, repair the pressure cooker, which was used to clean the utensils, and write prescriptions in Spanish,” she said.

“There are so many people in the world who have nothing.”

FOR THE FUTURE

Rue and her husband, Alan, have been married for 42 years. He retired 12 years ago, and the two own a home in Port Ludlow.

Rue expects to take some time to play golf, run, work in her garden, travel and take up the mandolin that a patient gave her so long ago – yet another gift that she said she couldn't accept but which the patient left anyway, some 27 years ago.

“So I've had it and I'm finally going to take lessons,” she said.

As for being missed, Rue said that just because she's gone doesn't mean the care will be gone.

The people she mentored will be there, and the goal of continually improving will be there.

And if she needs a hip or knee replacement, she'll be back.

“I recommend this hospital to as many people as I can. Jefferson County residents are fortunate and should be very proud of Jefferson Healthcare and the quality of care that is provided to all patients.”

A NOTE ON THE PAST

As for the $100 gift her mother gave her to attend college, Rue said she decided to thank her mother for that gift over the years. She gave her $100 bills for special days, birthdays, Mother's Day and other holidays.

After her mother died, Rue discovered that she had kept all of those $100 bills, perhaps as a reminder of how her daughter kept a promise.