Dedicated to Service

Lori Larson, R.N., CDE, knew at a very young age what she wanted to be when she grew up. "Being a nurse was the only thing I ever wanted to do," she said. "It was like a calling." Lori has been a nurse for 34 years – 32 of those on staff with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Santa Cruz, affiliated with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF).

During her early years in acute care nursing in Southern California, Lori saw many patients being readmitted to hospitals because they didn't know how to care for themselves at home. After moving to Santa Cruz in 1976, she decided to switch tracks in her career. "To me, the satisfaction in nursing comes from teaching people to take care of themselves and their loved ones," she said. "In the space of a one-hour home visit, the VNA provides people with a one-to-one, hands-on teaching experience that can prevent further illness and save them from spending weeks in a hospital."

A gifted writer, Lori has written nearly 50 stories that capture moments of gratitude from her home visits, all published over a five-year period as "Lori's Stories" in the Santa Cruz VNA employee newsletter. Today, most of Lori's patients are over age 65 and homebound. But nearly 20 years ago, she had an experience with a VNA patient that changed her life. "I took care of a young woman who was totally blind
due to diabetes," she recalled. "She needed help managing her illness, but I was at a loss because I didn’t have the right skills."

Lori went to her VNA supervisor and told her she wanted to become a specialist, and then took courses to become a certified diabetes educator. "Since then, I've devoted more than 20 years of my life to diabetes education," she said, "all because I wanted so much to help this young blind woman who had such an amazing spirit." Lori has given generously to the VNA every year since 2003, and several patients have given gifts to the VNA in her honor.

Her donations are designated for the VNA's charitable fund that provides home care for uninsured or underinsured patients who would otherwise not be eligible for care. "You get to a point in your life, hopefully, where you can afford to give more to others," she said. "I know first-hand that
the donations I make to the VNA help people who are most in need, and that’s a wonderful feeling."

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