Paula Taylor, assistant administrator and director of nursing at Newman Regional Health and registered nurse, recently announced she will step down from her position and will eventually retire — but not right away.
Taylor’s retirement from Newman is a two-step process, she said. She will step down from her current administrative position on Oct. 3 and will start doing shift work in the nursing department until March, when she will officially retire and draw her KPERS retirement benefits. Taylor said the time was right to retire and with her job responsibilities it’s not feasible to back out before retirement, she said.
“A lot of people start cutting back (before retirement),” she said. “This job is very demanding from the standpoint of time. ...”
Taylor originally signed on to the administrative job as a “temporary” position. She stayed in it for 22 years. She’s been at Newman for a total of 33 years. She started at the hospital in 1975 in critical care and the emergency room. She later became house supervisor and in 1981 became staffing coordinator. In 1986, she took her current position.
“I’m so thankful for the educational opportunities provided to me by the hospital,” Taylor said, adding that while at Newman she was able to obtain her bachelor’s in health care administration; a master’s degree in human relations; a master’s in organizational and industrial psychology; and her Ph.D. in integrative medicine.
Lifelong learning is one thing that Taylor strives to encourage at the hospital.
“I want us all to have the mentality of lifelong learners,” she said. “We as nurses have the responsibility and the hospital has the responsibility to maintain that knowledge base.”
Taylor said the timing of her retirement is right in light of a new chief executive officer coming on later this year.
“I think the timing is really good,” she said. “(There is) a new CEO coming into the hospital ... why not grow together and grow together as a team (with the new administrator).”
After retirement, Taylor said she will still work. She plans on taking limited shift work at Newman and pursuing other opportunities in her life.
Taylor has seen many changes during her tenure at Newman and has had the opportunity to work on several projects there, including the helicopter project. She was involved in several others as well, including the cardiac programs, in-patient rehab and patient safety initiatives. Those are only a few. However, Taylor said she won’t take full credit for the projects.
“My job is getting the right people in the right place and having people take the (idea) and run with it,” she said. “The whole thing is about the team.”
Research has been a large part of Taylor’s life as well. She reads a lot of current research and takes that back to the hospital and helps to get the ball rolling.
“It’s just keeping your finger on the pulse of what is going on in the nation in medical care,” she said. “We don’t want to stay closed.”
Taylor said she is proud of the efforts the hospital has made to keep up to date with — and even ahead of — cutting edge trends and technology.
“We’ve lined ourselves ahead of the curve many times,” she said. “We’re very proud of that.”
There also have been many changes over the years at Newman and in the medical field overall, Taylor said. There are a lot more medications and major changes in technology.
Taylor said she is excited for the next chapter in her career. Stepping down from her administrative position will put her back on the front lines until she retires.
“I’m so excited about my next opportunity,” she said. “It’s kind of a full circle time for me. I like going where the action is.”
Nurse (anonymous) says...
I can't believe that Brandy wrote such a poor article about an Emporia citizen who has contributed over 30 years of her life to our community. Someone who has served as an advocate, teacher, and friend to most who have had a pleasure to work along side of her. They didn't even get her title of the hospital right or mention her dedication to her staff and patients. Paula has continued to amaze all of us with her ability to maintain being the Chief Nursing Officer of NRH and still continue to work on the floor! She is the most dedicated and talented nurse, and I am so thankful for getting to work along side of her for many of my nursing years! Thank you Paula for all that you have done for each of us at the hospital and in the community, you were an amazing asset to NRH and will truly be missed!
September 14, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Absolute (anonymous) says...
They got her title wrong!! She is not the director of quality services (as it says in the title) or administrator for quality services (as it says in the first sentance).
I don't even work in the hospital and I know that she is the Director of Nursing.
September 14, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Absolute (anonymous) says...
Is the Gazette going to correct the error? I asked a friend of mine today who works at the hospital and he said that she is the director of nursing.
September 15, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Absolute (anonymous) says...
Still wondering if they will correct the error.
September 16, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
Thanks for your patience. I wasn't aware of the error until I looked at comments this morning. Then I had to track it down.
The story has been changed to reflect that Paula Taylor is assistant administrator and chief nursing officer at Newman Regional Health.
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
September 16, 2008 at 11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Absolute (anonymous) says...
Thank you Gwen for editing the article. A friend of mine told me that she had called the Gazette the day the article was published to alert you all of the error. I just wonder why it took so long for it to be corrected online. Many people read the online version.
September 16, 2008 at 3:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Writer20 (anonymous) says...
If you have followed Brandy's stories in the past you will see that her mistakes are few and far between. In fact, in my opinion (a dedicated reader of the Gazette), she is one of the best reporters the Gazette has. If you have been interviewed by her you would know how careful she is to get things right and just how hard a worker she is! Unfortunately, like all of us, she is human, and humans make mistakes. I highly doubt the error she made was meant to lessen the importance of Paula Taylor or the amazing contribution she has made over the past several years to our community.
September 16, 2008 at 7:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )