Meet Helen: Faith Through Four Decades of Nursing

After serving her patients for 43 years as a nurse, Helen Wilson credits her faith for helping her provide great care. She finds taking care of patients one-on-one the most rewarding aspect of her work.

“I love seeing them happy with the care they receive from us, and I am rewarded when my patients feel better,” she says.

Helen is an RN Clinical Coordinator for outpatient/same-day surgery at Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center. She started working with us in May 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since the pandemic began, I continue to answer the call to be a good nurse. The only thing that has changed is having to wear more PPE. Nothing else has changed with the way I care for my patients, because loving my patients and giving them the best care is my ultimate goal.”

Helen became a nurse because she saw her uncle pass away while he was gardening, and she did not know how to help him. Originally, she wanted to be a mail carrier when she was young. Then, while working as a short order cook, she was encouraged by some fellow coworkers to take the test to see if she could get into nursing school.

“I did take the test and I passed. I enrolled and never looked back,” Helen shares. “My journey as a nurse has allowed me to take care of patients in different areas of nursing such as ER, telemetry, ICU and, for the last 17 years, in outpatient surgery.”

In her current role, Helen cares for patients from the adolescent age through the elderly. Her daily tasks include prescreening patients, preparing patients for surgery, performing infusions and other tasks as needed.

“The pace changes from time to time, but it is not anything we cannot handle. We just have to think smart with our work to be sure everyone receives the personal care they need.”

Read more stories that celebrate our amazing Bon Secours nurses during National Nurses Week.

Also, learn about the health care services we offer at Bon Secours.