Kim Chacon, MS, RN
I grew up in the San Luis Valley since the age of 4. My parents are both natives of the Valley and thus the biggest influences of mine are drawn from rural living. They say it takes a village to raise a child and that couldn't be more true in my case. I was very fortunate to have both sets of my grandparents in my life. I watched each of my grandparents work very hard and never complain. They demonstrated resilience and strength. I come from a Hispanic and Polish background. Each background was unique; however, the one common thing from each was the importance of family.
​
I graduated from Monte Vista High School - a small rural school in the San Luis Valley. When I graduated, I swore I would never go to school again. Well - fortunately, I had a little inspiration to attend college. My son was only a year old when I began at Adams State College (named at the time). I had not really decided why I was going to college, only going as this was the expectation. I was the first in my family to go to college. I really never thought about being 'the first' until recently. Looking back - wow! Something I can brag about later to my grandkids :) I now have 8!
​
Originally I had planned to be a teacher; however, the courses did not seem to fit me at the time so I decided to major in Business Administration. While taking courses, I was encouraged to go to nursing school. At the time, there was an LPN program offered at the San Luis Valley Educational Center (currently known as Trinidad State Junior College). I thought I should give it a try. I began as Nurse Aide 1994, LPN 1995, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration 1998, Associate Degree RN 1998 and BS RN in 2008. I later returned to UC Denver to obtain my Master's Degree in Nursing.
I have had a great career in nursing. I have had experience as a bedside nurse, educator, management, infection prevention, staff development, director, and rehabilitation. Most of my career was spent in caring for older adults. This is no surprise - as the greatest influences of my life were my grandparents. It has been a goal of mine to ensure care to this population is provided with the utmost respect.
​
It is my goal to continue to provide quality education to new nurses. I want to be an inspiration to aspiring nurses. I choose to be a resource for those needing guidance. I plan to provide the same support and source of knowledge to others as I had this provided to me during my career.
​