Here for the Long Run

A lifelong Kentucky resident, Lesly Arrasmith, MSN, RN, didn’t plan on a career in medicine. That changed when she got an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Fresh out of high school, she was offered a full scholarship to Midway University.

“I always loved numbers and math and wanted to become an accountant,” Arrasmith said. “But when I got into nursing at Midway, I never considered accounting again.”

When Arrasmith began nursing school in 1989, she became a nursing assistant at Saint Joseph Hospital. When she earned her associate degree in 1991, she decided to stay put.

Over the next three decades, Arrasmith drove from her Mount Sterling home to Saint Joseph Hospital. Occasionally, she helped out at Saint Joseph East, also in Lexington. At different times, she took on roles as assistant, secretary, bedside nurse and charge nurse. She served patients in oncology, medical/surgical and post-op surgery units.

Then in 2009, she began a master’s degree program at Walden University. Soon after, she became director of nursing at Saint Joseph Hospital, overseeing critical care and telemetry units.

A couple of years ago, Arrasmith made a massive change. More than 30 years after starting at Saint Joseph Hospital, she became director of nursing at Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, where she is in charge of four units. On top of managing employees, she oversees patient care, looking to improve patient experience and outcomes.

Outside of work, Arrasmith enjoys relaxing by the pool, waterskiing and working on home projects with Greg, her husband of 30 years.While her current position is a world apart from her early nursing days, Arrasmith is still doing what she loves.

“I miss providing bedside care and earning patients’ trust as I help them improve,” Arrasmith said. “Thankfully, I still get to help patients. I’m just doing it from behind the scenes now.”

The past three decades brought major changes to medicine. According to Lesly Arrasmith, MSN, RN, director of nursing at Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, two advances stand out.

New techniques and technologies help patients spend less time in the hospital and recover faster. Electronic medical records allow primary care providers and specialists across CHI Saint Joseph Health to access all of your information with the push of a button. While technology has changed medical care for good, Arrasmith is here for a different, more personal reason.

“After all these years, the people keep me coming back,” she said. “It’s so wonderful to be here at Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, where I take care of the people I grew up with.”

A version of this article originally appeared in the Winter 2023 print edition of Spirit of Health.