Rikki Plaggemeyer, RN
ACUTE CARE NURSE MANAGER
STURGIS REGIONAL HOSPITAL
I think that you can’t pretend to care about people—so I really treat my caregivers like family and work alongside them. I know them personally, and don’t expect them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. They know that I care—and if my caregivers are happy, then they are able to treat the patients well.
“Nursing caregivers at Sturgis Regional Hospital continually say that it is because of Rikki that they stay in a small hospital. Many nurse leaders can be good or even great, but very few are truly exceptional. Rikki is a tremendous nurse and a phenomenal nursing leader, because she truly practices servant leadership. As a leader, mentor, teacher, counselor, confidant, and friend, she makes herself available at any time day or night to provide advice, empathy, or whatever her caregivers may need. They trust her and look up to her in ways most leaders can never truly imagine.
Rikki also questions the status quo—and she does so to advocate for her caregivers and her patients. She has learned new skills, thus allowing Sturgis Regional to offer services it previously could not. Whether she is filling in on Christmas Day during last year’s blizzard, organizing a toy drive, or volunteering for the Children’s Miracle Network Duck Race, Rikki provides priceless benefits to our communities.”
– Lynn Simons, Colleague
View more 2017 Nurses of Excellence Honorees HERE.
