Leupp nurse named best in country

(Times photo - Cindy Yurth)

Irene Bahe welcomes patients to the Leupp Clinic. Bahe, originally from Birdsprings, was recently named the 2010 Clinical Nurse of the Year by the Indian Health Service and the National Nurse Leadership Council.

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Almost as a rebellion, she majored in accounting. At least, until her dad got sick.

"When my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, that changed everything for me," said Bahe, who is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan), born for Tsi'naajinii (Black Streaked Forest Clan).

"Going through all that with him made me realize how much we need health care professionals who can work with our people," she said.

Bahe dropped out of Northern Arizona University to care for her father. Afterward, she was trained as a nurse's assistant and worked at Winslow Memorial Hospital.

Shortly after Northland Pioneer College opened its nursing program, she signed up, graduating with the second-ever class in 1995.

Thirteen years ago, the Birdsprings, Ariz., native moved back home, taking a job at the tiny Indian Health Service clinic in Leupp.

All her friends and family were right. She did make a good nurse. And this year, she was nationally recognized for her talent, being named 2010 Clinical Nurse of the Year by the IHS and the National Nurse Leadership Council. She accepted her award at a banquet in Washington, D.C., last week.

"Irene is the 'go to' person for our patients," wrote her colleague, nurse practitioner Susan Harvey, in nominating her. "She is the first person they call with their health concerns and questions. The phone on her desk constantly rings from the moment she steps into the clinic until she leaves, but she is never too busy to listen to their concerns."

Bahe says there's no secret to working with rural Navajos. You just have to be one.

"I grew up here," she said during a break between patients Monday. "The people know me. I'm bilingual, so I can talk to them. That's why they ask for me."

It's also the little extras she provides. If an elderly person is confused about refilling her calendar pillbox, Bahe tells her, "Just bring it in, I'll do it for you."

"It's amazing how often you'll see one pill bottle almost empty that they should have been taking just once a day, and the one that they're supposed to be taking twice a day almost full," she said. "I think understanding medication instructions is a real concern among the elderly Navajos, and the non-Navajo doctors may not realize how carefully they need to explain it."

Bahe says her Christian faith is what inspires her to go the extra mile.

"Every day I try to be the best nurse I can be, and also the best person I can be," she said. "When the younger nurses ask for my advice, that's what I tell them. You can't go wrong when you're doing your best."

Still, she was surprised to hear of her award.

"Susan (Harvey) came in one day saying, 'You won! You won!'" she recalled. "I said, 'What did I win?' I didn't even know she had nominated me for this award."

As much as Bahe cares for her patients, she puts her family first. When the award banquet coincided with a family trip to Colorado, she went to Colorado first and from there to Washington.

Two of her four children seem inclined to follow her into the medical field, one as a veterinarian. And then there's her 7-year-old, who Bahe is sure will be a surgeon.

He's already saved up for an anatomy book he saw at a book store.

"He said, 'Mom, now if I have to cut somebody, I'll know where to cut,'" she said with a laugh.

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