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Texas County Memorial Hospital’s chief nursing officer, Dorcas (Doretta) Todd-Willis is officially saying goodbye to her TCMH family at the end of the year, after spending over three decades of her nursing career serving patients and the community through her leadership at TCMH.
Todd-Willis grew up with parents who were excellent examples of what a role model should be. Both her father and mother spent their entire lives serving and giving to others, not just because her father was a preacher and her mother a teacher, it was just because that was who they were.
At a very early age, Todd-Willis knew that she wanted to help people and make them smile. Her parents gave her a Biblical name, Dorcas, meaning “woman of good deeds.” As she was growing up people would ask her about her name, she would proudly tell them how it was given to her and that she enjoyed helping people.
Her path to nursing began during her high school years when Todd-Willis worked at John Knox nursing home in Lee’s Summit.
“I truly enjoyed seeing the elderly smile and it was a joy to help them with everyday activities,” Todd-Willis explained. “Many of the patients were very appreciative and it was so rewarding.”
With the help of her brother that she had been close to her whole life, she was able to convince her parents to let her pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing at William Jewell College in Liberty.
“My brother encouraged me to go for it because William Jewell was known for having a very good BSN program, one of the few around at the time,” Todd-Willis said. “He was able to convince my parents that it would be a good thing for me.”
Todd-Willis did graduate with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1979 and she spent the next five years working as a registered nurse at home, in Lee’s Summit.
Early on in her nursing career Todd-Willis also had the privilege of working in Washington State and San Diego before she ultimately made the decision to move to Mountain Grove, an area she knew very well and had grown to love from her childhood.
Todd-Willis spent most of her childhood making several weekend trips to help on the family farm in Mountain Grove. Her parents owned a farm there and keeping the farm running was a family affair where everyone pitched in, especially during hay season.
“My dad was a preacher and every Friday afternoon we would drive down so we could help on the farm all day Saturday, and then we drive back home to Lee’s Summit on Saturday night so we could be home in time for him to preach on Sunday morning,” Todd-Willis explained. “I remember those weekends being very tiring, but we used those trips to spend time together as a family and so many memories were made.”
As long as those days of riding in the car, driving back and forth were for Todd-Willis, the time she spent enjoying life with family on the farm were impactful and left her with a desire to return to the area. She hoped to one day be able to enjoy the farm life on a daily basis, while continuing her calling as a nurse.
Those heartfelt desires became a reality for Todd-Willis when she was able to return to Mountain Grove and officially begin her nursing career with TCMH in 1987 when she accepted the assistant director of nursing position.
After just one year at TCMH Todd-Willis was promoted to chief nursing officer, a position she held for five years before stepping back to bedside nursing, a position that would allow her to focus more on her family.
“During the first fifteen years of my career with TCMH I worked with seven different chief executive officers,” Todd-Willis said. “There was a tremendous amount of turnover for us as an organization back then.”
“My determination to keep going during my first five years as chief nursing officer, despite the uphill battles that I faced, was TCMH. The hospital was needed for our community and because of it, a lot of lives were saved.” Todd-Willis explained.
Todd-Willis mentioned that she cared deeply for the hospital and the staff who kept it going.
“They are all family at TCMH,” Todd-Willis said.
Todd-Willis explained that the real stabilization for TCMH began in 2003 when Wes Murray became the chief executive officer.
“When Wes first started, I was working as the medical surgical director,” Todd-Willis said.
Todd-Willis explained that when Murray first talked to her about moving back into her former role that she turned him down.
“I soon realized that Wes was different from the previous chief executive officers that I had worked with at TCMH. He had compassion for people and helping others, and a passion for doing things better,” Todd-Willis said. “That was what convinced me to step back into the chief nursing officer position.”
Todd-Willis contributes much of her success throughout her time at TCMH to her friend and mentor, Omanez Fockler, retired registered nurse of 37 years, and current TCMH board of trustee’s vice-chairperson.
“My relationship with Omanez has meant so much to me. Her faith and spirituality have helped me through some stressful leadership times along the way,” Todd-Willis explained.
During her 33 years of service to TCMH, Todd-Willis has seen the hospital grow substantially in not only size, but in the many services that are now offered.
“When I first started, we only had a 7-bed emergency department. Now we have 16 total beds in our new emergency department,” Todd-Willis said. “All departments throughout the hospital have grown in size and services offered from where they used to be.”
Todd-Willis mentioned that many years ago they used to only staff one nurse at night to cover both the emergency department and obstetrics. There has been tremendous growth in both of those departments who now staff multiple nurses during the night shift.
“Even though we may not be a designated trauma center, without our physicians and staff many of our cardiac, stroke, trauma and respiratory patients would have died before they made it to a larger facility,” Todd-Willis said. “Time is crucial for them and TCMH plays a vital role in their early treatment and stabilization.”
“Many of our nurses received their clinical training at TCMH and came back to us when they finished their nursing programs,” Todd-Willis said. “That is what makes our “homegrown” nurses special to us. They are here for their community and it makes a difference in the lives of our patients.”
Todd-Willis explained that the nursing staff at TCMH are always ready to help their patients and their families when they need them.
“Our staff are not only saving lives every day, but they touch them through the way they show kindness and compassion,” Todd-Willis said.
“They are there to hold a patient’s hand as they take their last breath or cry with their loved ones,” Todd-Willis said. “Nursing is truly a beautiful and rewarding profession.”
“You have to have a strong belief in passion in order to make things better, and you have to believe in others,” Todd-Willis said, when she offered advice for the future generation of nurse leaders.
“The last 15 years have been the best years in my professional life. Through Wes’ leadership and compassion for others, I grew in my leadership and I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve others through my commitment to TCMH,” Todd-Willis said.
Todd-Willis shared that the people at TCMH are full of passion to help others and are what she is going to miss the most.
A quote by Ronald Regan has carried Todd-Willis for many years and means a lot to her:
“A great leader is not necessarily one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things.”
“TCMH has some amazing staff and it has truly been an honor and a blessing to have been given the opportunity to be a part of such a great team,” Todd-Willis said.
A quiet country farm awaits Todd-Willis at the end of the year. She is looking forward to enjoying life at her own pace and taking time to relax more often. With many grandchildren and great-children scattered throughout Missouri, Colorado, Utah and Nebraska, Todd-Willis hopes to spend some time traveling to see them once COVID becomes a thing of the past.