Most of them long ago put away the comfortable shoes they wore while nursing a career in tender loving care, but none of them has lost the light that led them to their occupations.
Members of the fledgling Madison County Retired Nurses group today share the kind of camaraderie that reminds them of the pledge they made at the beginning of their work lives.
"I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession. ..... With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care," reads a part of the Nightingale Pledge, a traditional part of nurse pinning ceremonies.
Even in retirement, nurses share a common bond, and the recently formed Madison County group is looking for potential members who feel the same.
The group was formed two years ago but is still picking up steam.
"There are more retired nurses out there than we've gotten in touch with," said Starkey Sloan of Alton, the president of the chapter.
The group meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month at the Senior Services Plus building, 2603 N. Rodgers Ave., Alton.
The unit emerged as part of an effort by nurse Margaret Miller of Waterloo, who was trying to organize retired nurses across the state as part of her membership in the Illinois Retired Nurses Association.
Sloan and others from this area went to one of those meetings and a chapter was born.
"I thought I was going out for a meal, and I came home elected as president," Sloan said.
The meetings are a mix of socializing and education. Often the group will bring in outside speakers to talk on a variety of subjects. Sometimes members themselves will make a presentation.
"Yesterday, we talked about depression and the things we can do to help family members or ourselves," Sloan said.
Member Janet Blair chairs the education presentations. At the next meeting, the group is expected to play host to Jane Brucker, a nurse who has organized nursing programs with American Indians in New Mexico.
Other key officers include: Nita Neunaber, secretary; Marie Klader, treasurer; and historian Ellie Flick. All three women are of Wood River.
All of the members come from backgrounds that are as diverse as nursing itself. Sloan, for example, graduated from nursing school at Alton Memorial Hospital and worked labor and delivery there. She then went to Greenville Hospital after it opened, branched into surgical nursing and made it up to nursing director. Later she was administrator at Eunice Smith Nursing Home in Alton before retiring in 1999.
The only requirement for membership in the group is being a nurse, working very little or not at all. Dues are $5 a year.
Advances in medicine and the growth of nursing schools in the area have done much to change the profession locally. Retired nurses, however, hope those advances don't somehow supercede personal care, which they feel should remain a hallmark of the profession.
"Things have gotten so technical, we as older nurses worry that (today's nurses) aren't getting to the bedside the way that they should," Sloan said. "You can spend more time looking at a fetal monitor than you do the patient."
Anyone wanting more information about Madison County Retired Nurses is invited to show up at a meeting or to call Sloan at (618) 474-4009.source
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