CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chesapeake Regional Medical Center recently bid farewell to one of its longest-serving nurses. Cheryl LaClair retired from nursing in September after a career that spanned more than four decades.
Looking back, LaClair said it's sometimes hard to believe she spent that many years on the job.
"You don't do the same thing every day, but you do very similar things every day," she said. "And one day leads right into the next."
She witnessed firsthand the hospital's evolution into what it is today. However, her recollection of her tenure is simple and modest.
"I did my job," LaClair said. "I hope I did it well."
Her job began at a small hospital in Pennsylvania, where she worked for two years before moving to Virginia.
LaClair said she interviewed with a couple of local hospitals before landing on the then-called Chesapeake General Hospital.
"Chesapeake just seemed more like a fit for me," LaClair said.
That was October 1981, just five years after the hospital first opened its doors.
"The core of the hospital was [shaped like] an 'H'," she recalled. "And it ended just before the lobby."
As the building grew, so did the number of jobs LaClair would work at the hospital. She started in the med-surg department, eventually becoming a nurse supervisor. Later, she moved to the emergency room.
But through her various roles, LaClair said there was one thing that never changed.
"The individual groups — like, a nursing unit — stayed together and stayed as a family," LaClair said.
The experience was the same for LaClair in the cardiac unit, where she spent the latter years of her career. Over time, she said she grew to become very comfortable with cardiovascular care.
"I learned to read the EKGs," LaClair said. "I could recognize if someone was having a heart attack."
After spending years caring for people's hearts, LaClair reflected on the heart she still has for her colleagues and patients.
"I hope I've made a positive difference in people's lives," she said. "You see people on the worst days of their lives. So, I always tried to make it a little bit better for them."
LaClair plans to spend her retirement traveling and visiting her family in Pennsylvania.
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare is hiring for several nursing positions. Click here to search for openings.