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(Kim Smith's) experiences combined with her wealth of
knowledge on how the new ER functions enabled
Kim to assist with every detail of this $9
million emergency department addition.
- Gabrielle Causby, Thomasville Medical Center's President
By Eric Frazier
The Dispatch
THOMASVILLE . Hanging on the wall of Kim Smith’s office at Thomasville Medical Center is an architect’s blueprint with a sign above it that reads: “Dreams Do Come True!”
Outside, heavy machinery is turning the dream for a new emergency department into reality. The 24,000-square-foot addition, scheduled for completion in late August, will more than double the capacity of the department to meet patient loads that have risen 10 percent annually for the past five years.
Smith, a 15-year veteran of the nursing staff, has directed the department for the past year and a half and has been a driving force behind the expansion.
Everyone knew it had to happen,” she says. “I guess I was just very passionate about it.”
When Smith went to work at the hospital in 1991, she never dreamed she would end up leading the 45-person emergency department staff. And when hospital President Gabrielle Causby offered her the position of nurse manager, Smith says it took her a month to decide whether to accept it.
“I loved hands-on patient care so much,” she explains.
But once she made her decision, she committed fully. She read about building new emergency departments, attended a conference in Philadelphia , Pa. , and visited numerous hospitals to get ideas. She worked with the architects to plan the movement of patients, to design a centralized nurses’ station and to ensure proper lighting.
“Her experiences combined with her wealth of knowledge on how the new ER functions enabled Kim to assist with every detail of this $9 million emergency department addition,” Causby confirms. “... Her compassion for the patients and genuine desire to improve the health of the communities we serve helped mold her into the leader she is today.”
Smith, 47, who grew up in Denton and still lives there, earned an associate degree in medical assisting at Wingate University in 1980. While her two children were young, she worked for several Thomasville physicians. Her daughter, Jessica, 23, recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , and her son, Joshua, 22, is a senior at North Carolina State University in Raleigh .
She continued her education when the children entered elementary school, and while completing an associate degree in nursing at Davidson County Community College , she worked as a secretary in the emergency department at TMC.
“It took me one month to know that was the environment I wanted to work in,” Smith recalls. “I hate routine. I love the spontaneity of the emergency setting.”
She became licensed as a registered nurse in 1991 and completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Winston-Salem State University last year. Smith holds numerous certifications in such areas as trauma care, cardiac life support, emergency pediatric nursing and sexual assault examination.
These days, Smith has direct contact with fewer patients, but she enjoys returning to hands-on care when the emergency department is busy. And she draws on her experience to care for and lift up her staff when they get overwhelmed.
“You have to be able, not to suppress, but to set aside your emotions during a crisis situation — but those emotions all come back to you after the crisis ends.”
That’s when she is there to listen and counsel.
When Smith goes home to her empty nest, she enjoys her quiet time and the company of her two Labrador retrievers, Sam and Molly.
Novant Health, TMC’s parent company, recognized Smith in 2001 as one of the “Remarkable 45” nurses in the Triad region. In 2004, she was selected as one of “The Great 100” nurses of North Carolina .
As part of accepting that award, she was asked to answer the question, “If you had it to do all over again, would you choose nursing?”
In her response, Smith wrote: “I know in my heart that I made the correct decision for me. It may not be the most lucrative, and Lord knows, it’s not glamorous. But I do make a difference. ... Nursing has become more than a career, more than a big part of my life, but it is a part of who I am.”
Eric Frazier can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 226, or eric.frazier@the-dispatch.com.
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