MCC nursing grads make a difference in patients’ lives
Thomas and Kristin Molony.
Meridian Community College alumni Kristin and Thomas Molony use their talents to make a difference in patients’ lives.
Both graduates of MCC’s Associate Degree Nursing program, Kristin currently serves as the Director of Nursing at John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital in DeKalb and Thomas is Director of Organ Recovery Services for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Association, or MORA.
“It’s pretty simple why I wanted to become a nurse – I love taking care of people,” Kristin said.
“My specialty ended up being critical care, but it’s the little things that drew me to nursing,” she said. “Holding a patient’s hand when they are sad or scared, sitting down at the bedside to talk to a patient that is lonely, helping someone with their morning routine, that’s the good stuff.”
Thomas, too, finds his job fulfilling. He oversees daily operations for the organ clinical team involved in caring for organ donors, finding the best recipients and supporting donor families as they give hope to others in moments of personal tragedy.
“We cross paths with the strongest people every day who make that brave selfless decision to save the life of another person in the midst of their own tragedy,” he said.
The Molonys never crossed paths at MCC.
Kristin earned her associate degree from the nursing program in May 2001. Thomas was vice president of his graduating nursing class in December 2006. They both went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in nursing: Kristin from Mississippi University for Women and Thomas from Walden University.
They both enjoyed their time at MCC and said the campus almost became like a second home.
“Nursing school is intense, and you have to lean on each other for support,” Thomas said. “You spend hours, months, and years with the same group of people focused on the same goal in life, and you become a family.”
Kristin agreed.
“There were many, many hours spent on campus in class, labs or studying,” she said. “The instructors I had during my years there were wonderful. I was well prepared for the start of my nursing career.”
Having worked as a student nurse in the critical care unit at Rush Foundation Hospital while in school, Kristin continued after her MCC graduation. She then joined the hospital’s cardiac recovery team but left in 2002 to become a travel nurse.
In 2008, she returned home from travel nursing and met her future husband.
Thomas had worked in Rush’s Emergency Department while a student nurse but joined Anderson Regional Medical Center after graduation as a staff nurse on the telemetry floor.
The two decided to become travel nurses together later that year, returning home in 2009 to work as staff nurses at Rush. Kristin joined the Cardiac Recovery Unit, and Thomas worked in critical care.
The couple married in 2010 and are parents to three fun-loving and busy girls. Third-grader Aven, 9, and first-grader Annsley, 6, are both students at West Lauderdale Elementary School. Addison, 5, is a pre-kindergartener at Highland Baptist Day Care.
The couple, members of First Christian Church, spend most of their free time supporting their daughters in their endeavors.
“We are always at a soccer field. The girls also take gymnastics,” Kristin said. “Thomas and I enjoy the trails at Bonita when we are able to get away just the two of us, but I guess our hobbies at this point in our lives are watching and supporting our girls in theirs.”
In choosing the healthcare profession, Thomas followed in the footsteps of his mother, Mona Woods. She graduated from MCC’s nursing program in 1974 and worked as a registered nurse in Rush’s surgery department for more than 30 years.
“I have many childhood memories spent with my mother at work when she was called in for emergency cases,” he recalled. “This is why I was fascinated with science and medicine from a young age and followed in my mother’s footsteps.”
While working as an ICU nurse at Rush following his travel nurse assignment, Thomas took on what would become a life-changing role as the hospital’s clinical liaison to MORA.
In this position, he got a first-hand look at the special gift organ donors give to save lives and help others overcome their illnesses. In 2011, he decided to leave staff nursing and work full time with MORA as an organ recovery coordinator.
“As humans, we have the opportunity to give the greatest gift possible – the gift of life,” Thomas said. “We can all register to be an organ, eye and tissue donor and one day give that same precious gift.”
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing last year saw an all-time high in the number of life-saving transplants performed in the United States with more than 41,000.
Kristin comes from a long line of healthcare providers. Her great, great grandfather, Dr. J.H. Rush, founded the first private hospital in Meridian, which would later become Rush Foundation Hospital. Her great grandfather, Dr. H. Lowry Rush Sr., and grandfather, Dr. Lowry Rush Jr., also were prominent local physicians.
Since childhood, Kristin knew she would follow in the family profession.
“When I was around six, I was in the hospital for a hernia repair, and I had a fantastic nurse, Carol Smith, who took care of me,” Kristin recalled. “I received exceptional care that admission, and those memories still stick with me today.”
Between 2010 and 2018, Kristin moved up the ladder of nursing leadership at Rush, going from the unit coordinator of the Cardiac Recovery Unit to the hospital’s Assistant Director of Nursing. She took over as Director of Nursing at the DeKalb hospital last October.
Kristin said these days, nurses have to make a conscious effort to maintain those special personal encounters when it comes to taking care of patients because they have so little free time. The COVID pandemic has only added to those challenges, she noted.
“I have the greatest respect and admiration for the teams of nurses I’ve worked with during the pandemic,” she said. “They have been beaten down time and time again, yet they keep coming back each and every day to take care of the people of our community. They are the real heroes!”