For LaVerne Thomas and her family, taking care of patients has been more than just a job.

Monday, July 17, 2000

For LaVerne Thomas and her family, taking care of patients has been more than just a job. It has been a career that has crossed generations.

"Pulse," a monthly publication for Ohio State University Hospitals, released a piece in May researching how many mothers and daughters work together in area hospitals.

Originally, the search was for a mother-daughter team working in hospitals. Instead, the magazine found a a family tradition that has spanned four generations and that began in Ironton.

Sheila Knapper, her daughter, Crystal Prysock, and Mrs. Prysock’s daughter, Joelle Knapper, were three of four generations pictured on the cover of the May issue.

They are following the example of Mrs. Thomas – one of the first licensed practical nurses in the region.

"We have four generations still alive," Mrs. Prysock said. "My mother’s mother (Mrs. Thomas) was a licensed practical nurse (LPN), so I think we all have a heritage of compassion and caring for others."

Mrs. Thomas started it all, entering the Lawrence County General Hospital (now known as the River Valley Health System), as a nurse’s aide. Shortly after that, she was one of the first students to graduate with the first class of LPNs in 1951.

"Prior to that, there were no LPNs in this area," Mrs. Thomas said. "We didn’t have a school for that here at that time. LPNs were not recognized before until that first class emerged."

Kindness that Mrs. Thomas experienced in her youth fueled her compassion to help others.

"I had been sick for a long time, and people had cared for me," Mrs. Thomas said. "It made an impression on me, and I thought it would be a good thing to do – caring for others, so I got into nursing."

Mrs. Thomas worked 31 years as a nurse in Ironton, and during her career, she had a daughter, Sheila Knapper, who later married and moved to Columbus.

"(Sheila) needed a job, and I suggested that she try the hospital at Ohio State University in any area," Mrs. Thomas said. "She found a job at the University Hospital at Ohio State, and they started her right in nursing."

During Mrs. Knapper’s years of tending to the sick and injured at OSU, she had a daughter of her own, Crystal, who eventually followed in her mother’s footsteps. She works at OSU, too, in nutrition and dietetics.

Mrs. Prysock later had a daughter – and yes – she, too, wanted to help people. She now works for OSU’s hospital, too, in the same field as her mother.

"The interesting thing is that they all ended up working for Ohio State University Hospitals, helping the sick," Mrs. Thomas said.

And, this devotion to the vocation of helping others doesn’t end in Columbus, either.

Mrs. Thomas’s other daughter, Beverly, went to the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Center, to work as a patient finance coordinator for Prescription Partners.

Mrs. Carter’s job is to coordinate the patients’ medications and make sure they will be able to take care of the expenses, Mrs. Thomas said.

Beverly Carter has a daughter, Stacey, who works as a medical call oOperator at the same medical center in Pittsburgh.

"Stacey takes calls when emergency flights are coming in by helicopter," Mrs. Thomas said. "For instance, if (a medical team) was transporting an injured or critically ill patient by helicopter, Stacey coordinates and sees that everything is in order, and that (physicians) will be ready to treat the patient on arrival."

Mrs. Thomas said her whole family – daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters – were all motivated to help others.

"My daughters and granddaughters just went into the medical field on their own," Mrs. Thomas said. "Their interests are different, but they all ended up working in health care."