60 years of caring at Bellevue

Camille Petty, RN, has been caring for Bellevue patients for an amazing 60 years. “I work in child psychiatry, and I have former patients who still call me as adults to thank me for helping them when they were young.”
 
Born and raised in Harlem, Camille entered Bellevue Nursing School in 1954, when she was 17 years old. She developed an interest in nursing from her mother’s love of movies during the World War II era, where she was inspired by strong depictions of wartime nurses in a noble cause.

For six decades, Camille has been part of another noble cause — caring for all New Yorkers. At Bellevue, no patient is ever turned away.
 
Recently, NYSNA posted a photo of Camille asking other nurses to join her to lobby for safe staffing. It went viral, generating 5,000 views on Facebook. When asked why she thought her message resonated, Camille replied, “I suppose it’s all the relationships I’ve made from my years as a nurse.”

Camille never hesitates to encourage young people to go into nursing. “I’m honored to have the chance to be a part of people’s lives. Nursing is a wonderful and enriching profession. Every day when I wake up I look forward to going to my job.”

Our HHC system is the greatest public hospital system in the U.S. It is powered by 8,000 nurses who share Camille's incredible dedication to our patients.