Returning to the heart of nursing

After spending 18 years in leadership roles across IU Health Home Health and Hospice, Donna Stout, RN, MSN, made a decision that surprised some of her colleagues. Rather than continuing to climb the leadership ladder as she approached the final chapter of her career, she chose to return to direct patient care.

"I felt like it was time to step away from leadership and devote the rest of my career to patient care as I had always thoroughly enjoyed this part of nursing," Stout says.

The decision brought her to IU Health's Remote Patient Monitoring team, where she has spent the past two and a half years helping patients manage their health from home while staying connected to the care and expertise they need.

For Stout, caring for patients has been at the center of a journey that began nearly four decades ago. In 1987, she started at IU Tipton Hospital as a part-time unit secretary while taking full-time classes at Indiana University Kokomo and raising three daughters, the youngest just 2 years old.

"This was not always easy as I juggled working part-time, full-time college classes and my family at home," she says. "I have always said that my husband Jeff really owns half of my degree because without his love and support, I don't think I would have made it."

That determination helped build a 36-year nursing career that has touched countless lives, from newborns to older adults. While Stout never planned for leadership, what began as an interim management role evolved into nearly two decades of leading teams and supporting caregivers across the state.

Today, she says Remote Patient Monitoring has reinforced an important lesson.

"It doesn't matter how long you have been a nurse or what type of nursing one has been doing. Patients are always in need of someone with experience and expertise to help them navigate their health journey."

As an Engagement Champion, Stout brings that same perspective to her teammates, choosing positivity each day and encouraging others to do the same.

Looking back, she is most proud of the lives she has impacted and the relationships she has built along the way.

"Every patient regardless of age or medical diagnosis deserves to be cared for in a way that makes them feel as if they are the only patient," she says. "I want my patients to feel special, cared for and important."

For Stout, nursing has never simply been a career. Whether leading teams or connecting with patients through Remote Patient Monitoring, it has always been about helping people feel seen, supported and cared for.

Donna, RN, MSN
Remote Patient Monitoring