Raise a glass to Florence "SeeSee" Rigney, who's said to be America's oldest working nurse.
After more than 70 years caring for patients, 96-year-old Rigney is officially hanging up her scrubs for a well-earned retirement. Rigney's career in nursing started when penicillin had just been introduced to the medical field, and she ended it as a beloved operation room nurse in Washington state.
"It's humbling to stop and think about the thousands and thousands of lives she's cared for," said Laureen Driscoll, president of MultiCare Tacoma General and Allenmore Hospitals.
"Even working into her nineties, SeeSee has never been one to slow down," said Laureen Driscoll, president of MultiCare Tacoma General and Allenmore Hospitals, reports CNN. "Some of her colleagues joked that they had to sprint to keep up with her."
This isn't the first time Rigney turned in her retirement papers. When she was 65, she briefly retired from nursing for six months. But she couldn't stay away from her passion to help others and returned to Tacoma General, where she eventually transitioned to working part-time, according to the hospital.
Rigney may get to finally put her feet up now, but her legacy is far from over. The hospital system has established the SeeSee Rigney Nursing Endowed Scholarship Fund to inspire future generations of nurses.