Donna Drake grew up caring for her mother, who suffered from cerebral palsy, and other family members. It’s not surprising that she became a nurse.

“I guess all my life I’ve been a caregiver,” she says. “At Mercy Health Lourdes, I worked 29 years, mostly as a hospice nurse.”

Through that work, Donna saw how Mercy Health prioritized taking care of their patients, both during their care and even when they left.

“If I saw something that I felt like a patient needed, I did whatever I needed to do to get help. I saw families who didn’t have anything, and we found help for them,” she says. “We worked as a team with social workers, nurses and pastoral care.”

Donna supports the Mercy Health Foundation so that she can continue being part of that ministry.

“I believe in Mercy Health and the care that they give,” she says. “I believe that they try to really help people.”