Denise Hummer, newly appointed vice president for nursing services at Community Memorial Hospital, isn’t entirely new to the job.

Six years ago she held the position on an interim basis and though she left after ten months to be closer to her family, she learned two important lessons: Community Memorial Hospital felt like home and the people she worked with were special.

“My job is to work with good people to make a positive impact,” says Hummer, who is upbeat, personable and excited to be back in a job she loved the first time around. “My cheeks hurt I’ve been smiling so much.” Hummer, who adds, “I’ve been in nursing, oh goodness, over 30 years,” has had a career that has taken her from the bedside to the board room. She trained as a registered nurse at Crouse Irving Hospital School of Nursing, earned her bachelor of science at SUNY IT and her nursing home administration license from St. Joseph’s in Standish, Maine.

“Denise Hummer is the ideal person to oversee nursing at Community Memorial,” said Hospital President David W. Felton. “She has great experience, knows our hospital and many staff members and she is a warm person, with a wonderful sense of humor, in addition to being a skilled nurse and top flight administrator. She puts people first and that includes patients, nurses and colleagues.”

Hummer comes to Community Memorial from Claxton Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg where she was case manager in charge of utilization and discharge planning. Earlier, she spent 27 years at E.J. Noble (now River Hospital) in Alexandria Bay, administered the long term care unit and the physical, medical and rehab center at Community General in Syracuse and was vice president of nursing at E. J. Noble in Gouverneur.

Her husband Peter is a physicians assistant, son Sean works for the State Parks system and daughter Kristina is in medical school.

Being back at Community Memorial feels right to Hummer, who appreciates the size of the hospital and likes the idea that there are both acute care and long term care patients. Even during her first days, Hummer has displayed her leadership style. She has been listening, being visible, supporting staff and giving advice but not micromanaging.

“It’s my role to help people do their own jobs and make their own decisions. I intend to give the nurses the resources, knowledge and the emotional support they need.

“Nurses are the people who are at the hospital 24-hours a day. They are communicating, assessing, providing information to physicians. In addition to the technical care we provide, nurses do so much more. They must understand the impact the situation has not only on the patient but also family and friends.”

Denise Hummer has plunged into the job and her non-stop smile is a good signal as she shuttles between meetings, scheduling sessions and various departments.

“The nurses give great care here and we’re going to do better every day.”