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This RN can’t keep still

When Denise Wright moved back to Wichita, she worked briefly for a nursing agency. That’s how she discovered she enjoyed working in skilled nursing communities.

“You have different types of relationships (in skilled nursing),” Denise said. “It’s not like you get to know someone, and they’re gone right away.”

In her role as a registered nurse for the PATH program, she values the opportunity to “form relationships with people and see them progress.”

The Michigan native first lived in Wichita when she was stationed at McConnell Air Force Base. Denise served in the Air Force for 27 years, first as a supply specialist, and then in the dental field.

Denise liked the area and her sister lives in Wichita, so she moved back after retiring from the military.

Hired as an LPN, Denise took courses at Butler County Community College to earn her Kansas RN license while working at Presbyterian Manor.

She has four children, the oldest of whom are 39-year-old twins. Two live in Illinois and one is in California. The fourth played college basketball for Bradley and went on to play professional basketball overseas. He’s spending this season in Wichita after the birth of his first child.

In her free time, Denise enjoys solving crosswords, working out at the gym and roller skating. She’s been skating since the early 80’s, and is part of a roller-skating group that has been featured on local radio shows. You can find her and her groupmates at Carousel Skate Center wearing matching T-shirts.

“I have to be moving and constantly doing something,” Denise said.

The World Health Organization designated 2020 as “the year of the nurse.” This observation coincides with the 200th birth anniversary of revolutionary nurse Florence Nightingale, whose leadership forever elevated the nursing profession. Throughout the year, PMMA communities will shine a spotlight on nurses as part of this global recognition. You can share your nurse story by sending an email to 2020YearoftheNurse@pmma.org.

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