Abby Fox (Intro): Welcome to the Still Caring Podcast, presented by Stillwater Medical.

Joe Akin (Intro): Here, community is at the heart of healthcare.

Katon Lunsford (Intro): Through honest conversations and shared experiences

Abby Fox (Intro): we explore what it means to care for our health—

Joe Akin (Intro): and each other.

Katon Lunsford (Intro): Because better health takes a village and you're part of ours.

Katon Lunsford (Host 1): Hi, and welcome. My name is Katon Lunsford, and I'm the PR communication specialist here at Stillwater Medical. Today, we're joined by Mary Beth Hunziker, who is the Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. Mary Beth began in an interim basis in May of 2025. And now, she has assumed the role permanently, and we are just so thankful for her leadership.

And we're also really thankful that you're taking the time to come on here and share your story. And so, before we just dive into everything, would you tell us a little bit more about yourself and when Stillwater became home to you?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, I am originally from Missouri. I've kind of traveled around for a little bit. This is the fourth state that I've actually lived in, but became a nurse when I lived in Missouri. I got my bachelor's. At the time, it was Northeast Missouri State University. Now, they call it Truman University. And then, did my master's at University of Missouri in Columbia. I've done several, many different roles within nursing. I've done staff nursing at the bedside for med-surg and ICU and even inpatient rehab. I've worked as a clinical nurse specialist for quite a while, did a couple years as an educator in nursing program, worked as a nursing director, and now as the CNO.

So, I moved to Stillwater in 2001 site unseen. I had never been to Oklahoma in my life, much less Stillwater. So, my husband said, "I have a new job, let's go." And I said, "Okay, this is why I'm a nurse. I can do anything anywhere." So, we moved here and I took a year to just kind of get everybody settled in after our move. And. 2002. I started at Stillwater Medical and I've been here since.

Host: I love that. That's so awesome. So like a moment that just stood out where you were like, "Okay, Stillwater's my place and I feel at home here?" Or was it kind of just this gradual integration into the community?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, it's funny, we showed up, we bought a house pretty well immediately. It just kind of worked out. And I think we were there a day and here comes a neighbor from across the street with cookies and she already knew what my husband did and was totally welcoming and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this feels wonderful here." it feels wonderful. And then, when it came time to get a job, kept telling my husband, "Stillwater's so small, I'm going to have to go to the city or Tulsa to find a job. I'm going to have to start commuting again."

then, I came here I interviewed in the city and it didn't click. And I came here and I interviewed. And I went home and I told my husband, I said, "Oh my gosh, you are not going to believe what they have in Stillwater. You are not going to believe this. I want to work there." So, that's how I ended up here.

Host: I love that. So, it sounds like you've had kind of different positions and roles in nursing. What drew you to this profession and how do you think it shaped the person you are today?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: You know, a lot of people when you ask them that question, they have a story of, "Oh, my family member had a horrible accident" or something, and they were exposed to healthcare along the way. But I don't really have one of those stories. So, think there was something in my upbringing because as I was thinking about that, I thought, you know, all of my siblings are in helping professions. We all do something to help other people, whether it's healthcare or teaching or any of those things. And I think it was just something about the way we were brought up and just that desire that was planted within us to help other people. So, that's how I ended up in nursing.

Host: I love that. Yes, I feel like it's definitely a calling and it sounds like it's just something that you have deep within you, and that makes it even more special and personal. Okay. So, as the chief nursing officer at Stillwater Medical. How would you describe the impact of nurses on the health of our community?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, Stillwater's only just under 50,000 people. And I don't know if people realize how many nurses are in this community. So just in the Stillwater Medical community, there are over 600 nurses. Whether that be LPNs or RNs or nurse practitioners or certified registered nurse anesthetists, there's over 600. And that doesn't count the number of nurses that also are present in the nursing homes in Stillwater, in public health, in our school system.

So, I think that almost no matter where you go, you're going to interact with a nurse, whether you realize it or not. You know, when you think about nursing and what they do in the community, they really impact people in the community in ways that may kind of go a little bit unseen. We all know that when somebody's sick. There's that physical component, but there's also usually another component to it. rarely just physical and nurses are usually the first ones to recognize that. Recognizing the anxiety or fear or distress when something's going on, whether it be identifying that there's cultural needs that need to addressed to really care for this person, or even just situations where a person's voice isn't being heard, the nurse stepping up to be the advocate for that patient.

So in our community we see a lot of that and we really see nurses humanizing care just by advocating for patients and their preferences and their dignity. A lot of work is done. Just in overall, you think of a nurse, you think of clinical skills, but there's also those clinical skills are combined with presence and coordination, education, advocacy. And while those skills are going to look different across the different areas where nursing practices, they really are the core contributions that are consistent no matter where the nurse goes.

Host: I love that. I guess just not like care stops in the hospital. I think you never stop being a nurse. And I think it's just evident, like what you're saying, care is not always physical. And I just feel like nurses are some of the people in the community to step up first and help in whatever way that's needed.

And so, I think your answer just beautifully sums that up because it's a full time, it's always on your mind. You're always thinking of helping other people, which is what you mentioned of why you wanted to do this profession. So, I love that. that's obviously a time-consuming profession. It can be very mentally or physically, emotionally draining. So, is there a story or like a moment that's really stuck with you during your time as a nurse that you draw strength from on really hard days? And if so, could you share that with us?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I don't know that there's truly one story that I could point out that I kind of always go back to. There's lots of really good moments. I've been in nursing for it's 38 years this year since I got my license. And throughout those years, I've always saved thank you notes from patients or families. And now, I have thank you notes from staff now that I'm not at the bedside anymore. But when things get really hard, I truly pull out those thank you notes and I just flip through them and it helps me remember why it is I do what I do and what's important about that to me. And that's really where I draw my strength from.

Host: Because job and your profession, you guys, just every day nine to five, like, matters so much to people. It's not just something you clock in and out of. You're making an impact on people's lives. And I think that those thanks yous really showcase that people remember you and you've stuck out to them and you guys are sometimes pivotal moments in their journeys of health and their life, and I think that's awesome. I love that. agree I'm not a nurse, but I do think sometimes there's not one thing that keeps you coming back to a job. It's just a combination of all the days adding up. So, I love that.

What is one thing—doing a little pivot—what's one thing that you wish people knew about being a nurse?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I wish people—so, this is for those of you that have a nurse in your lives. I often have friends that are outside of nursing that don't understand, especially when I was staffing or when I was closer to the bedside. "Why don't you leave on time? always at work? your problem?"

it's a different job. You can't just put up your books at the end of the day or put your things on a shelf and say, "Okay, that's it. I'm done. I'm clocking out for the day." If there's somebody that needs you, if you have a patient that isn't doing well, you stick around. You don't just walk out on that patient. So, give those nurses in your lives some grace and support them through what they do.

But really, I think, overall, I think nursing is one of the most rewarding professions. Yet at times, it can be one of the hardest careers that you choose, but it really gives you the chance to make a difference every day. Every day, you can make the difference in somebody's life. And, you know, if you're the type of person that feeds off of that, it's a wonderful profession.

Host: I love that. What's this? This is off. Sorry, we don't have this question written down. But what does it look like, the transition from working bedside and being with patients every day to kind of taking a step back into this administrative role to oversee a lot more people and your a chief nursing officer now. So, I mean, what that looks like and what's it feel like?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, I very first tried management when I was really young in my career. I was still in Missouri, I think, I was maybe three years into my career. And I was nursing manager for the unit where I started as a nurse. And after I did that, I said, "Management is not for me. I will never do that again."

So, I went on and did lots of other things. I always knew that as a bedside nurse, I felt like I really made an impact on my group of patients. And I felt like I did that well. And I went back and got my master's so that I could make a difference with a larger group of patients. And I did that by being a clinical nurse specialist, which that's a role that has a lot of different components to it. There's a leadership component to it. There's a practice change component to it where you look at what's the latest evidence on practice and how do we change things to make it better for our patients. You consult on the more difficult, higher acuity patients. You help educate nursing, you educate patients and families. So, it's one of those kind of catchall roles.

And in doing that, I saw that I could impact a greater number of patients. But then, I also saw that I still stayed current in my bedside skills and I could jump in and help when needed. And that was always really important to me. And I really had no intention of moving back into management. I didn't at all. And I guess the person that asked me to apply for her role when she was retiring saw something in me that I probably didn't see in myself. And when she first asked me to apply, I thought, "There is no way. I am not meant for that." But I did.

And I found that, in that position, not only did I finally feel like I actually found my true love in nursing, my true niche. But I also found that I could make a difference for the whole unit of patients and for the staff that was caring for those patients, And knowing that I'm not going to be here forever. We age out after a while, go on and do other things. But I felt like I could really make a difference in providing mentorship and leadership to staff that are going to keep carrying on what I value so much. And I found that that really fed my soul.

Host: In the past year that you've been in this role, and I know you've mentioned you get to provide mentorship and, you know, make changes for the whole unit, what has been something in this role that you just absolutely love or something you've implemented that you feel like you are like, "Okay, this is my role. This is where I'm supposed to be. I'm excited that I'm here?"

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: Oh gosh. The funny thing is when you take a new position, it's such a fire hose. And you're just trying to keep your feet underneath you and get everything done and make sure you're meeting expectations. And things come up and you deal with them in the instant and you really don't think about it because you know that's what needs to be done then to keep patients safe and to keep everything moving forward.

But we had an instance that things didn't go as well as we want them to, and I was able to take that and with the help of my team, do a deep dive into—we have so many guardrails in healthcare so that people are safe and that things go the way they should and we're also a profession of humans. And sometimes it's hard to be human when people want you and need for you to be perfect. So, to take a look at where did our guardrails fail us? How do we build our guardrails back up and make sure that everything we're doing is safe and people are getting excellent, excellent care? The situation really provided me the opportunity to look at that.

And when we built our guardrails back up and got everybody back on board with, "Okay, this is what we need to do and this is how we're going to do it, and this is the extra education we're going to do," just the realization that we really were able to change patient safety. It is a safe place, but we made it even safer by rebuilding guardrails. And it struck me that, "Oh my gosh, we made a huge difference with just that one little piece."

Host: And I think that highlights what you were saying about getting to change things for a whole unit of patients in this role now. And I think that's just a perfect example. So, thank you for sharing that. So, going in to our last question. We like to end all of our conversations with a challenge to care. And so, what's one thing that you would encourage listeners to do better care for themselves or for the community?

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I would say, first and foremost, get out your pen and paper and write an old-fashioned thank you note to a nurse, somebody that impacted you or your family, somebody that just made a difference to you, and let them know. So often, we think, "Oh, they did such a wonderful job," but we don't take a minute just to jot them a quick little note. But it's those notes that nurses hang on to that help get them through when things are hard. So, take a minute, thank a nurse.

But then also, as you go about your day, just remember that everybody you meet is going through something. And maybe the person in line in front of you isn't the nicest person, but just give them grace. Let it go. I don't know. I just think we could give each other grace a little bit more and just recognize that there is goodness out there, it would make a huge impact on our community and our lives.

Host: I love that. And it's like you said, we're all humans and it's just important to remember that, that we are the same and that we all have our moments and make our mistakes. So, exactly, extend that grace. Thank you so much for joining us. This was such a great conversation. And I think there's a lot of great things for listeners to hear, especially coming up on Nurses Week. We're really excited to share your story and to just highlight and thank our nurses for all the hard work that you guys do in providing care for our community. So, thank you, Mary Beth, and a great rest of your day. Thank you.

Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: Thank you, Katon.