We are IH: Registered nurse of 35 years pursued her dream

September 4, 2025

Diana Heighes, RN, has been with IH for 35 years. She has worked in day care surgery at Royal Inland Hospital for 10 years.

Name: Diana Heighes (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Registered Nurse (RN)
Length of Service: 35 years
Worksite: Royal Inland Hospital Day Care Surgery
Community: Barnhartvale
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc
Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: Equity for everyone.

Diana grew up in the small of community of Chase, B.C., and moved to Barnhartvale just outside of Kamloops 22 years ago.

At 16 years old, Diana started taking the courses required for nursing. After high school, she worked for a general physician in Chase. “I quickly realized how much I liked medicine,” she recounts. “My husband and I had two young children when he encouraged me to return to school to pursue my nursing dream.”

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Learn more about Diana’s journey with IH

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Learn more about Diana’s journey with IH

Diana has worked for Interior Health for 35 years. For the first 25 years, Royal Inland Hospital 6 South was her home.

“I worked with a great group of nurses. We basically grew up and matured together,” she says. Diana was thrilled when her daughter Echo Porlier, a rural nurse educator, joined her at 6 South after graduating from nursing.

Two people sit side by side on concrete steps in front of a building. — Diana worked with her daughter Echo Porlier, a rural education nurse, on 6 South at Royal Inland Hospital.

For the past 10 years, Diana has worked in day care surgery with many “amazing” nurses. Her job varies from preparing patients for their surgeries, ensuring they are stable post-surgery, and helping them with instructions and prescriptions before they go home. Her goal is to make each patient feel important and cared for during their surgical experience by treating them with respect and dignity and honouring their unique qualities.

I love bedside nursing and have enjoyed being a senior-level nurse with knowledge to share.

-- Diana Heighes, RN

At home, Diana and her husband tend to a small farm, raising beef cows and caring for their animals. “My parents immigrated from Holland in the 1950s,” shares Diana. “They were hard-working farmers who instilled a great work ethic and common-sense approach to life.”

Two people wearing jackets and long pants stand on a rocky beach full of logs on a sunny day. — Diana and her husband.

The Heighes enjoy being active outdoors and spend time camping with their three children and eight grandchildren. When asked what she’s most looking forward to, Diana replies, “At my age, it’s retirement!”