Long time nurse retires after 56 years
Gladys Davis worked her last shift at South Arkansas Regional Hospital on Tuesday July 16, marking the end of a remarkable career. Gladys started at the hospital at just 15 years old, earning $0.50 an hour as a nurse’s aide at Warner Brown. Now, at 84 and a half, she has served the same hospital system—despite its changing names—for 56 years, witnessing its merger with another hospital in 1987.
On Thursday, her coworkers and friends gathered to give Gladys a heartfelt farewell. Over one hundred people attended the retirement party, where she was presented with a diamond-filled cross necklace. Danna Taylor, the President of South Arkansas Regional Hospital, honored Gladys with a speech. “This room is a testament to what you mean to so many people,” Taylor said. “I hope you enjoy this party that is about you.” Taylor recounted the history of Gladys’s career and the changes in healthcare since she began. In 1968, insulin cost 99 cents, milk of magnesia was 89 cents, and the average hospitalization episode was $536.
Gladys started working full-time at the hospital, then called Union Memorial Hospital, in July 1968. She held numerous roles in intensive care and obstetrics before becoming the nightside house supervisor. Reflecting on her night shifts, Gladys said, “People are just as sick at night as they are in the daytime, sometimes even sicker. When I started, we didn’t have doctors at night like we do now. Nurses had to call the hospitalists for orders, and if it was something urgent, the house supervisor had to handle it.”
STORIES TO SHARE ABOUT GLADYS
Taylor shared anecdotes about
Gladys, including one where she had to call an administrator to help an employee stuck in an elevator. “In healthcare, you never know what kind of issues you’re going to have to resolve,” Taylor said. Gladys replied, “There have been several stuck on the elevators.” The reply drew laughter. Taylor also recounted many stories about Gladys’s dedication and persistence, highlighting her support for patients, their families, and hospital staff. Recently, Gladys joined the Arkansas Nurse Honor Guard and participated in a tribute to a fellow nurse.
HUMANS REQUIRE CARE
Gladys noted that while the essence of nursing care remains the same, the tools and methods have evolved. “The human body requires so much, and that’s what nurses do— take care of the human body, whatever the needs are. But just how we take care of patients and what tools we use have changed for the better,” she said. She reminisced about using mercury thermometers under the tongue and how now, they swipe the forehead. “There is always some sort of innovation coming along.”
Federal privacy regulations (HIPAA guidelines) have been one of the most significant changes in nursing, according to Gladys. “The laws keep medical staff from sharing information about patients. That puts a damper on saying anything friendly to family and friends, but it’s a legal thing, and we must do it.”
Brenda Hopson, Director of the Intensive Care Unit and a longtime coworker, spoke fondly of Gladys. They worked together for 35 years. “I did a lot of nights with Gladys. She had high energy all the time. She was always willing to help,” Hopson said. She recalled how Gladys loved her patients and would go out of her way to provide for their needs, even making peanut butter sandwiches in the middle of the night.
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