Thanks for working here this week: Susan Pillen, RN, Behavioral Health Services

Campbell County Health is proud of its employees, and we want the CCH family and the Campbell County community to know about the good work that they do for this organization.

Allow us to introduce Susan Pillen, RN, who works at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in the inpatient unit of Behavioral Health Services in Gillette, Wyoming. Susan has earned her associates degree in nursing, and is currently attending college for her bachelor’s degree in nursing, with only one semester remaining! She’s worked for CCH three and a half years, but has been in health care for 31 years!

For those who do not know, BHS provides treatment and counseling of behavioral disorders, mental illness and substance abuse treatment following detox. For patients who may be experiencing severe episodes of mental illness, CCH offers an eight-bed inpatient adult and adolescent unit to provide monitored care.

Being the oldest of five siblings, Susan said she was quite familiar with nurturing others. “I recall dreaming of being a nurse or doctor when I was in my youth. After giving birth to my first child at 27 weeks, I made a commitment to obtain education, and be someone who could care for others during times of illness and trials,” she says.

When asked who her health care heroes are, Susan names her three daughters! “Rickay Wolf is the completion stage of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) degree, Tabitha Brown is completing her associates degree in nursing, and Crystal Benson gives her time and love as a NSA part time while working her own business. As I watch these individuals make sacrifices in life to pursue their dreams and reach career goals in the medical field, I am inspired to further my own educational journey to be able to expand the excellent care I am able to provide to patients, family and friends” she says.

When she’s not at work, Susan can typically be found working hard on her studies, and caring for and enjoying time with her family. “I don't take enough time for pleasure, as my husband and children constantly remind me,” she says.

We asked Susan what she likes most about working for CCH, and what excellence every day means to her. Check out her response:

“Helping people learn to manage their mental health condition and live a healthy life is fulfilling and rewarding. Mental health tends to be highly stigmatized in our region, considered a pseudo-science by many. Being a part of changing that culture and teaching people to care for their health holistically is very self-fulfilling.

We must be able to provide excellent care to patients, regardless of challenges or trials we may be facing personally or in the work environment. By being able to place our distractions and conflicts aside and focusing on the patient's mental, physical and spiritual needs, we are able to provide the best care available—and each patient deserves no less. Each moment with a patient makes a difference and we have the opportunity to impact them positively, even during terminal situations, if we are providing excellent care.”

Thank you, Susan, for taking such great care of our patients. We are proud to have you on our team.

Is there a CCH employee who went the extra mile or shows you extraordinary service? Give them a pat on the back by completing an Excellence Every Day card.

To learn more about Behavioral Health Services, visit www.cchwyo.org/bhs.