Bernice Ettore, former U.S. Airforce Major and current nurse of Hawai'i Care Choices, has been working in the nursing field for over 53 years.
Ettore joined the U.S. Airforce in 1990 as a first lieutenant nurse when they were recruiting for Operation Desert Shield (later known as Desert Storm), which was the US operational name for the US buildup of forces and Saudi Arabia's defense from August 2, 1990, to January 16, 1991. Airforce quickly recruited her since she came with fifteen years of experience in the operating room as an RN. She was first assigned in North California for a year, and then was stationed overseas in Japan for the years afterwards. In Japan, she became in charge of health promotion and wellness centers.
She led the opening of the first wellness center in the Pacific, which was located in Yukota Air Base, Japan. Her communication skills and cultural understanding grew tremendously during this time, as she learned to work with countless active duty personnel and their family members from all over the nation. She shared how her knowledge from then still helps her today as a hospice nurse. She shared, “Hospice is a combination of everything you ever learned in nursing altogether.”
Bernice Ettore has been with Hawai'i Care Choices for seven years. She hopes to continue her career and to support patients and their families as long as possible.
Hawai‘i Care Choices is a part of the “We Honor Veterans” program that provides resources to meet the unique needs of America’s Veterans.