Graduate of MC’s first nursing class enjoys 39-year (and counting) careerJuly 27, 2023

Paralea (Wincy) Hursh graduated from Midland College in 1984 with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing.  She was a member of the first class of Associate Degree Nursing students.  Today Hursh is Director of Operations for Nursing Consultants Inc. in Fort Smith, AR and oversees 17 long-term care facilities and companies that provide ancillary care.

“I owe it all to Midland College,” Hursh said.  “Nothing in my life, except my family, has been a bigger blessing than my Midland College nursing degree.”

Hursh grew up in Muldrow, OK, a small town just across the state line from Fort Smith.  She explained that during her high school years, her family was on welfare.  After graduating from high school in Muldrow, she married a man in the construction industry, obtained an associate degree in Business from Tulsa Junior College and had a son.

“In 1979 or 1980, we moved to Midland because of the oil boom,” she said.  “I was 26; my son was 6 years old; and my marriage was declining.  It was time for me to make a change in my life.  I come from a long tradition of nurses in my family, and I decided that maybe I should also try to become a nurse.  

“I remember making that decision one day in the spring of 1982 when I was at the old Gibson’s store in Midland.  I used the pay phone outside Gibson’s and called Midland College.  The person on the other end of the phone was named Kay. [Kay Floyd is one of the longest-serving employees at Midland College.  She is a retired secretary in the Midland College Health Sciences Division.]  She said ‘let’s see about getting you in our first nursing class which starts in the fall!’  That was the start of a new life for me and a career that I’ve been doing for 39 years and want to do for another 100!”

Hursh explained that it was definitely Divine intervention that caused her to use the pay phone at Gibson’s that day.

“My timing was perfect,” she said.  “Before being accepted into the Nursing program, we had to pass Anatomy and Physiology I and II.  I was able to take those classes in the summer, and that’s when I knew that I had made the right decision.  I loved learning the parts of the human body and how they work!”

Hursh was accepted into the first Associate Degree Nursing class and said that the support and encouragement the students received was phenomenal. 

“I will never forget the three nursing professors—Dr. Celia Harris, Dr. Eileen Piwetz and Clara Usrey,”  she stated.  “Whatever they wanted me to do, I did it, and I can’t think of a better way to learn.  The nursing professors even took us to Houston to MD Anderson Cancer Center.  Being in a city like Houston at a facility like MD Anderson was certainly an eye-opening experience for me having grown up in a little town in Oklahoma.”

Hursh said that Dr. Eileen Piwetz not only taught her nursing skills, but also instilled self-confidence and empowered her.  Midland College’s first president Dr. Al Langford hired Dr. Piwetz to help start the Associate Degree Nursing program.  Piwetz later became vice president of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the Midland College Foundation before retiring from Midland College in 2011.

“I know I wasn’t the brightest student in the class, and I’m pretty sure I was one of those students who needed extra ‘tutoring,’ but Dr. Piwetz never gave up on me.” Hursh said.  

“I also remember Dr. Celia Harris telling me that if I can’t do anything else for a patient, then at least turn the pillow over to the cool side.  Years later when I became an oncology nurse and wanted to do something just to help make my patients more comfortable, I recalled Dr. Harris’ words. To this day, I still give that same advice to nurse aides that work in the long-term care facilities where I consult.  I tell them, ‘Let’s go through the halls and turn over everybody’s pillow!’”  

When Hursh graduated from Midland College in 1984, she started working on the medical-surgical floor at Midland Memorial Hospital and later at Allison Cancer Center.  In 1991, she moved back to the Fort Smith, AR area and worked in palliative and home healthcare before accepting a position with Nursing Consultants, Inc.

Even with her busy, successful career, Hursh finds time to enjoy travel.  Each year, she spends two-three weeks in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  She also enjoys traveling with her 88-year-old mother (a retired Licensed Practical Nurse) to Branson, MO and with her grandchildren to Florida.  She is a former member of the board of directors for Harbor House, a substance abuse treatment facility. 

“I have never regretted making the decision to become a nurse,” she said.  “In fact, I now find myself being an advocate for nursing careers.  I tell young women I meet who are looking to better themselves, ‘go to the local community college and check out the nursing program.’  It certainly opened doors for me and has given me a great life.  I love being a nurse; I’m 68 years old and have no plans to retire anytime soon!”