Getting to Know: Carolyn Clover
--interview conducted and written by Kathy Hinkle

This month (hot as it is) it's nice to think back to one of Tulsa's winter ice storms and an employee who was recognized for special service at that time. When the streets get icy, not everyone is able to make that drive into work. Carolyn Clover was one of the employees who stayed over and worked wherever she was needed. She even slept here for several days to be available for her own shift and others also.

Carolyn is a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) and also Certified Medication Aide (CMA) who works primarily in Assisted Living on D-wing and has worked here for eight years. She likes being a CNA because she truly likes helping people. “My goal is to treat our residents like I would want to be treated and how I would like my own mother to be treated.”

Carolyn “accidentally” got into nursing. When her marriage ended she knew that she had to go out and get a job. Her first thought was that she might be a waitress but when she applied for a job as a waitress the woman doing the interview did something she didn't have to do. She said, “Carolyn, you don't really want this job do you?” She could tell that even thought Carolyn would make her a good worker, she was the kind of person that being a waitress would not be where her heart was leading her.

She talked to Carolyn about being a nurse aide. All Carolyn could think about was that nurses worked in hospitals so that was where she assumed she would work. She found out that the hospital had already started its training class and wouldn't be starting another one for several months. She couldn't work in the hospital without being in the class. But then she heard about a job opening at Colonial Manor Nursing Home. Carolyn started there immediately and was trained on the job. Later she got her certification from Medical Personnel Pool - now called Interim.

Her first experience with St. Simeon's was in 1985 while working for Interim while she was also doing insurance work in a doctor's office. She later started working part-time here in 1990. She would work the 3-11 shift on the weekends while working full-time in the doctor's office during the week so she was working seven days a week. No one could ever say that Carolyn has not been a hard worker all her life!

Surprise, surprise. She eventually got burned out working seven days a week and decided to devote herself to one job and (lucky for us) chose St. Simeon's. She continued to work the 3-11 shift until an opening on days opened up and she was able to switch so she could be home with her son when he got out of school.

Carolyn was one of the people selected to represent nursing on our ongoing Continuing Quality Improvement Interdepartmental Team that oversees how we're doing in key areas of resident care. The team looks at everything from infections to nutrition to depression to accidents to quality of life issues. They have a very important responsibility and, in addition to Nursing, include representatives from Administration, Dietary, and Life Enrichment. The information that is reviewed and recommendations and follow-through for improvement are reported to our accrediting authority, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO). St. Simeon's is one of the very few long term facilities in the state to be have JCAHO accreditation.

Carolyn has lived her whole life in Tulsa. She spent the first 18 years near Pine and Lewis and attended Springdale Elementary School, Cleveland Junior High, and Central High School when it was downtown.

She later married and had five children. With the exception of one daughter who lives in Louisiana, they all live in the Tulsa area. In addition to her three girls and two boys, she now has 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren -- and her family is still growing. A great-grandchild is due in November and a grandchild coming in January! She enjoys taking her grandchildren to the Spot Light Children's Theatre and has a season pass to the Broken Arrow Community Playhouse.

Carolyn lives in a mobile home in the Sperry Mobile Home Park. She has lived there for six years and really enjoys it. She belongs to the Valley View Baptist Church. She bought her mobile home brand new and, “I really liked having everything new all at once since it came with a brand-new refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, etc.”

Living with her are five parakeets, three cockatiels, and one gold fish. Since they are all in aquariums or cages she doesn't have to worry about them running around and getting into trouble. Her daughter wanted to get her a cat for Christmas but she thought that was a sure-fire recipe for trouble since the cat might go after one of her birds. Actually cats are notorious for being attracted to fish too...

Carolyn does something that sounds like fun. In Life Senior Service's Vintage Magazine, which you see all around St. Simeon's, they talk about the various day trips that they sponsor. Thanks to the urging of Karen Blankenship, Staff Nurse in Assisted Living, Carolyn started going on some of these trips and discovered that she loves to travel. She has been on day trips to Arkansas and Missouri, places like Kansas City and Springfield, Branson and Warr Eagle Arts and Crafts Show, and Laura Ingalls Wilder's (author of Little House on the Prairie) home. One of her favorite trips is their Mystery Trip. “You don't know where you are going - that's the mystery. You just pay your money, get on the bus, and see what happens!”

She has also traveled to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Colorado. She is planning a trip to Louisiana in July. Her trip to NYC (Karen went along too) was an eleven day Kraft bus tour that took them through 14 states. “We saw the Statue of Liberty and attended a Broadway play with Tom Selleck.” Carolyn collects thimbles and light houses and looks for them every where she goes, “I've found that lighthouses are a lot scarcer than thimbles.”

Carolyn's love for our residents comes through loud and clear. She demonstrates the highest standards of care and loyalty to St. Simeon's. In life, when one door closes, usually another one opens. How fortunate that when Carolyn was at a crossroads in her life, someone took the time to help her find this field of work which truly has to be her calling, and that St. Simeon's is lucky enough to count her as one of our own.