Ohio Valley General Hospital Nursing Alums Celebrate Decades of Service in Wheeling
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Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing was their training ground. Caring for patients was their passion. Mary McKinley and Betty Jo Sproull met in 1969 at the school of nursing and their lives have remained intertwined through the years.
They got together to reminisce about the many years of service they have given to the old Ohio Valley General Hospital, Ohio Valley Medical Center and related entities.
McKinley retired in early July but had been with the organization for 43 years, holding positions such as staff nurse, instructor and clinical chair at OVGH School of Nursing, clinical nurse specialist and director of education.
"I came here to nursing school and never left. To me, this is home and my co-workers are part of my family. OVGH and OVMC -- this is my Wheeling," McKinley said.
Currently, Sproull is enjoying being a staff nurse in Hillcrest Behavioral Health Services and plans to retire later this summer after 39 years in the organization. She has held numerous positions such as staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist and administrator at Peterson Hospital.
Sproull said, "Mary and I have seen so much through the years. We were the first clinical nurse specialists along with some other fine nurses. It was our privilege to care for not only patients and families, but to train and educate many of the nurses that are still here at OVMC and EORH (East Ohio Regional Hospital)."
Both McKinley and Sproull worked on the Shadows and Reflections display located on the main level of OVMC's education and administration building. It depicts the history of OVGH Nursing School and includes artifacts such as a commencement program from 1907 and nursing uniforms and caps from 1892 up through the year the school closed in 1988. Many of the school's graduates and their family members come in to the hospital to look at the display and the collection of class photos.
Although both women are retiring this year, their legacy and that of all the instructors and nurses at OVGH and OVMC continues today.
Many of the nurses still at OVMC and its sister hospital, East Ohio Regional Hospital, commented on their departure with a resounding "thank you" for passing along their wisdom and their knowledge. They believe the support and education that current nurses received from McKinley and Sproull is reflected in the care given to patients at OVMC and EORH.
When asked for a parting comment about their time at the school and in the hospital, McKinley and Sproull said, "It really has been a love affair with this organization. The patients we have met and cared for as well as the support from our co-workers has made our time here very special. That is why we and many others stay so long and love our work so very much."