3 of 10 Alabama Hospital Heroes from Flowers Hospital - Cynthia Wilson

2/13/2013

Cynthia Wilson

In 1977, Cynthia Wilson was offered a prestigious academic scholarship in Chemical Engineering to the University of Tennessee. The young woman, who was born in Evergreen and grew up in Andalusia, Alabama, was one of the few female students in the School of Engineering. Although she loved Chemistry and Mathematics, by her second year at UT, she decided engineering was not for her. She always dreamed of being a physician and could not relinquish her desire for a career in the medical field. Leaving UT, Cynthia married and started her family, with the desire to enter healthcare ever present. One day, she was visiting a friend in Dothan who was applying for the nursing program. On a whim, Cynthia decided to apply too. Although her friend did not get in, Cynthia was accepted in the program and started her healthcare career.

After graduation in 1989, fate intervened again. Cynthia had always wanted to work in the Emergency Room. On scholarship with a facility that did not accept new graduates into specialty areas like the ER, Cynthia was heartbroken. Then a friend who worked at Flowers Hospital told Cynthia they could offer her a job in the ER and buy her scholarship. Cynthia went to work on the 11p- 7a shift in Flowers Emergency Department and so began a nursing career that has spanned 23 years. Cynthia worked in the ER for 17 years, rising through the ranks from Staff Nurse to Preceptor to Clinical Supervisor to Assistant Manager. In 2006, she transferred to Nursing Administration as the Nursing Supervisor.

Cynthia Wilson is a part of a nursing legacy. Her mother was an LPN and Cynthia remembers thinking she was the best nurse in the world. When Cynthia graduated from nursing school as a Registered Nurse in 1989, her mother also received her RN. Two of Cynthia’s three daughters are in school to become RNs like their mother and grandmother. Now, many of Cynthia’s colleagues describe her as the best nurse in the world.

Cynthia knows she was the recipient of excellent training in her early years at Flowers Hospital, working with physicians and nurses dedicated to patient care. She observed experienced nurses skillfully handle all patients. She hoped that one day she would be able to do the same.

The emergency room is a microcosm of the community. Cynthia met people at their best and worst, scared and scarred, angry and confused, joyful and dejected. Over the years she not only learned all aspects of emergency nursing, she became a teacher, counselor, and friend to her patients and her staff.

Cynthia treats each patient like she would want her family to be treated. Recently, Cynthia lost her mother and stepfather but points to the excellent attentive nursing care they received. She wants to leave every patient room knowing that whether they have family present or not, someone is there for them, keeping careful vigil.

"The most endearing characteristic of Cynthia's personality is her dedication to the patients she cares for and the support of the staff."

- Charles Tew, RN, Associate Director Nursing

Cynthia Wilson felt that the Emergency Room was everything but when she transferred to Nursing Supervisor she decided there was so much more. She found the emergency room to be a snapshot in time, “You captured people in that one life defining moment but you don’t always know what happens to them once they leave your department.” Cynthia provided life saving care in the ER and now provides life-sustaining care for the entire hospital in her role as Nursing Supervisor. When Cynthia was a new nurse in the ER, she had great mentors. She is now able to provide that same support to new nurses working throughout the hospital. Supervising from 4 p.m. to midnight, Cynthia is in charge of the after-hours operation of all the clinical departments in the hospital. She must wear many hats and make solid decisions quickly, accurately and in the best interest of the patient. New nurses turn to her for guidance on medications, procedures and how to deal with many situations. Knowing that Cynthia is there creates an atmosphere of calm in the hospital and that is reflected in better patient care and better outcomes.

Cynthia consistently displays effective leadership. She inspires other caregivers to provide excellent patient care and sets high expectation of herself and the staff members she leads.

– Dan Cumbie, RN, Chief Nursing Officer

Cynthia has three daughters and eight grandchildren, four girls and four boys. She is blessed to have them all live in the area. The day that she was told the hospital was nominating her for hospital hero, she was upstairs in labor and delivery with her daughter. That was the day her eighth grandchild was born.

Working the evening shift sometimes makes it hard to get to the ball game or the school program, but Cynthia tries her best to be in attendance whenever she can. She loves spending time with the grandchildren. She is a strong proponent of education and encourages her grandchildren to study and be involved in the community. She also wants them to understand the importance of family and large family reunions are an annual affair, which she is often asked to help organize.

What free time she has left, after working her full time job and enjoying her children and grandchildren, is spent at Word of Truth church. She loves being at church and working behind the scenes. Before she became so involved in the activities of her grandchildren, she often took on the fund raising projects at the church because she feels she can connect with others. This was a role most everyone avoided but Cynthia knew the importance that fund raising played in providing the unmet needs of the church and the community. She jokes that, “People would say here comes Cynthia, selling something again. She is always convincing us to buy tickets or candy or t-shirts for one important cause or another.”

While in nursing school, Cynthia Wilson cared for a patient with AIDS. Little was known about the disease then. People, including healthcare workers, were afraid. Concerned for their own safety, Cynthia was aware that, concerned for their own safety, no family or friends visited the young man. Filled with compassion for the patient, she watched each day as everyone who entered the room wore gowns, gloves and masks and had little personal interaction with him. They entered, did exactly what needed to be done and left. She decided she needed to go into the room, stay a little while and get to know the person behind the illness. She continued to visit with her patient. In the end, it was Cynthia who was by her patient’s side, holding his hand with her ungloved hand, when he died. Those around her were inspired by her courage and compassion. As a cancer survivor, she continues to inspire others through Relay for Life.

After 23 years of holding hands and standing vigil, Cynthia Wilson is an inspiration to those who know her and love her. Every nurse has a defining moment, a patient that stands out above the rest or just that sense that they are where they need to be. When asked about the moment that let her know what she does is worthwhile, Cynthia answered, “When an older person looks up into your face and says thank you, then you know.”

Thank you Cynthia for all that you have done, for all the nurses you have inspired, the sick you have healed, the dying you have comforted and the friend you have been to all at Flowers Hospital.

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