Profile in philanthropy
A Leap of Service
.jpg)
Tammi Nash is a Leap Year baby of sorts--on the job. She started as a nurse at Riverview Hospital on Leap Day, and this year celebrates 20 years of service. “Actually, it’s my fifth anniversary,” laughs Nash, now clinical operations director of the Riverview Heart and Vascular Center.
All kidding aside, the work years do somehow seem shorter to Nash, who revels in the hospital’s team atmosphere. The Purdue graduate marvels she almost ended up elsewhere, but instead chose Riverview to be closer to home after becoming pregnant with the first of four boys, with husband Michael.
“From early on I felt like it was a place people stayed at for a long time and enjoyed,” says Nash, fondly remembering the mentorship of enthusiastic coworkers from all over the facility.
The hospital’s “personal community touch” and an Foundation employee campaign inspired the long-time Hamilton County resident to become involved in the Riverview Memorial Foundation. “The Foundation takes on projects that can make visits by patients even more meaningful,” she explains.
Over the years, Nash has devoted more of her time and money to the Foundation after seeing firsthand how their projects enhance patient care. Points of personal inspiration include the Foundation’s purchase of a Life Net Receiving Station, that works with local EMS to prepare the hospital for the treatment of heart attack patients before they arrive at Riverview; enhancements to the Women’s Pavilion; and construction of a chapel near the Emergency Center.
As a Pathway Club committee member, Nash now encourages other employees to become involved as well as assists with the annual campaign and the “Heartfelt Thanks” Golf and Canoe Outing.
Nash is passionate about being involved in the Foundation’s efforts because of who Riverview serves. “The people we’re caring for are our neighbors, family members, friends and members of the community,” she notes.
For a busy working mother, who spends many off hours attending sons’ sports events, tying volunteerism into work life is a leap that makes perfect sense.