AdventHealth nurse celebrates 51 years of service and counting

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A nurse is celebrating more than half a century of service at a Denver hospital.

Brooke Kavanaugh is a registered nurse at AdventHealth Porter where she has worked for 51 years.

“My age group, if you wanted to go to college, you could be a nurse or a teacher,” Kavanaugh said. “I liked science, so I picked nursing and I got really lucky and fell in love with it.”

She currently works in the ER but also spent time in the OR and Intensive Care Unit.

“It’s new every day, but it’s really the same,” Kavanaugh said. “People just need you to care about them and that’s why they come.”

She said her coworkers keep her coming back along with the patients and their stories.

“I have a lot,” Kavanaugh said. “Most you can’t tell.”

But a few are worth sharing.

“I had a man on Christmas whose heart stopped, and when he woke up, he said, ‘The last thing I remembered was you standing over me. You were my angel.’ He came every year for 10 years to bring me a present at Christmas,” Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh’s compassion runs in the family. Her youngest daughter, Zoe, works in the medical field as a paramedic. When it comes to advice for aspiring nurses, Kavanaugh said all the hard work pays off.

“Be ready to work really hard, but it’s worth it,” Kavanaugh said. “It’s really worth it because where else do you get to make that kind of difference in someone’s life?”

While retirement is not in the cards just yet, Kavanaugh said she’s going to go part-time soon so she can spend more time with her grandchildren.

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