Four women from same Q-C region family help staff the Genesis nursing team
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By Karla Walsh | Monday, January 21, 2008 |
From left, Teresa Grimm, Camilla Lancaster, Joyce Barnes and Annette Holst are all sisters — from a Grand Mound, Iowa, family of 15 children — and they all work at Genesis Medical Center’s West Central Park Avenue campus in Davenport. The quartet has a combined 81 years in nursing at Genesis, and 12 members of their extended family are in the medical field, too. (Larry Fisher/Quad-City Times) Buy this Photo
Grace and Clarence Kinney raised a household full of 11 girls and four boys. From their Grand Mound, Iowa, house with only one bathroom emerged a group of adults who became community servants. Many are employed as either teachers or health-care professionals.
The Kinney parents instilled in their children the importance of faith, caring and family. So it should come as no surprise that four of their daughters have combined for 81 years of nursing care at the Genesis Medical Center hospitals in the Quad-City region.
Teresa Grimm, the sixth-born of the Kinney children, Annette Holst, the 10th-born, Joyce Barnes, the 11th-born, and Camilla Lancaster, the 13th-born, all of DeWitt, Iowa, work at least part-time at the Genesis West Central Park Avenue campus in Davenport.
“Other employees have to be careful what they say. We have ears everywhere,” joked Lancaster, a registered endoscopy nurse.
The sisters don’t normally run into each other at work because each has a different specialty. However, Barnes took Holst out to lunch for her birthday not long ago.
The sisters can communicate about health care with 12 members of their extended family who work in the medical field. Three nieces of the four women are also employees of Genesis.
The sisters’ interest in the health-care field was handed down the family tree.
“Our older sister, Monica, influenced me to read stories about nurses. Many people today are infatuated with medical TV shows. I read books,” Holst said.
The Kinney parents arranged for an older sibling to mentor a younger sibling, and Monica had a large influence on Holst’s job decision. All of the sisters, who are certified nurses, now act as mentors for new nurses and nursing students. They say they enjoy helping new staffers feel at home.
Holst went back to school for her master’s degree in nursing and now encourages her sisters to move up the professional ladder. She said new staff members are her patients, and she focuses on recruitment and retention in her job as a development specialist.
“Annette doesn’t let us get stagnant. She challenges us. It is sisterly love in a professional manner,” said Barnes, a pulmonary nurse.
Their father, Clarence Kinney, who had pulmonary problems, was a Genesis supporter until he died two years ago. Although he lived closer to several other hospitals, whenever he needed medical care, he went to Genesis to receive treatment.
The sisters agree that the hospital is supportive of quality care.
“The accountability keeps me here. The longevity of the nurses helps keep each other accountable. We hold up and support others,” Barnes said.
The women have worked in other occupations, including Barnes as a cosmetologist. In addition to her work at Genesis, she is a Mary Kay makeup and cosmetics consultant. Diana Paustian, a fellow Genesis nurse who has worked at the hospital for 35 years, influenced Barnes to follow through with her nursing goals after working in cosmetology.
“Making people feel good and bringing out the best in them is my favorite part of my job,” Barnes said.
Along with family support, Grimm was influenced to join the health-care field by her special needs child. She said that grounded her in compassion and she enjoys the flexibility of a nursing career even though she has always had one love.
“There are so many things you can do as a nurse. If you are not satisfied, there is another area you can try,” said Grimm, a woundostomy nurse. “I love working at the wound clinic. Wounds are my passion.”
Holst tried working in other specialties and even at other hospitals, but she never quit her job at Genesis. She always came back and never could fully leave because she supports the Genesis mission. Her sisters agree with that sentiment.
“We live, eat and breathe the Genesis mission,” Barnes said.
All younger than 50, the four sisters plan to keep growing and climbing the professional ladder. The family continues to be a close-knit unit, too. Barnes’ mentor, Paustian, recently hired one of the sisters’ nieces, Annie Kinney, so the family legacy shows no signs of slowing.
Contact the city desk at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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