Heather Judith Carey Palmer

Heather J. Palmer was like many aspiring young adults, not yet sure of what to do with her life, having started a family and now facing difficult career choices. Inspired by her maternal grandmother, Agnes Claire LaSuer, who was a life long nurse, Heather decided to pursue a career in nursing. 

Once making the decision, Heather needed to navigate her career path. She started by taking a job as a CNA with an HCA Healthcare hospital in Independence, MO. Working from that starting point, with three kids and a working husband, she worked the night shift at the hospital, with the intent of getting a scholarship from the hospital to go to an accelerated nursing school.  She received that opportunity and latched onto it!

A lot of sacrifices were then made, but she completed the one-year nursing course at William Jewell College and became a registered nurse at Centerpoint Medical Center.  This started her career development through varying levels of management with the HCA MidAmerica Division. Nurse, Charge Nurse, Director, and ACNO were all positions that Heather held at Centerpoint.

During her tenure at Centerpoint, she was instrumental in the creation of their Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute. She was then promoted to Vice President of Nursing Operations for the HCA MidAmerica Division until she achieved her goal of being appointed to the Chief Nursing Officer position at Belton Regional Medical Center. She loved Belton Regional Medical Center, her fellow colleagues and patients. She served as the Chief Nursing Officer until her untimely death in October 2020.

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Heather created many bonds with colleagues within the hospital community. She was mentored by and mentored to so many fabulous people during her career. Each individual she encountered was benefited by and from the relationship that was created with Heather. It is those relationships that the Foundation is hoping to honor for others through scholarship opportunities in Heather’s memory.