Carolyn Wilson, a licensed practical nurse, works in the Liberty Wing of Menlo Park’s New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home. The Plainfield resident trained at Union County Technical School, now Union County Community College, more than twenty years ago to become a LPN.

Menlo Park is one of three nursing homes the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs operates. The three New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes, located in Menlo Park, Paramus and Vineland, serve about one thousand veterans who require long-term nursing home type care. The Veterans Memorial Homes offer around-the-clock medical and nursing care and rehabilitative and recreational services.

“Look in my high school yearbook,” Wilson directed. “It says nursing for my career choice. When I was a little girl I went to a clinic with my mom who was expecting at the time. I just couldn’t get over it. The nurses wore caps and crisp white uniforms. They were assertive, immaculate, and caring. I was so taken with it as a child.”

“I enjoy coming to work each day,” Wilson explained. “I like to interact with the staff – co-workers – and of course the residents.”

“Without our residents, we wouldn’t have our ability [freedom] to do what we want to do, Wilson said. “They are the ones who made the sacrifices for us. Many of our residents were 18 year old, drafted out of high school. I thought of myself going from high school, getting on a bus, then in a few short months going overseas. I can hardly imagine it.”

“One resident said he was afraid but he went,” Wilson recounted. “He made the sacrifice. That told me something about the kind of hero I was taking care of. He had no say so but he did it and did it well.”

“It is very important to have good nurses around – ones who care - like these,” said Herb Robins. Herb and Sylvia recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. Herb spends hours with his wife almost every day at the home. Sylvia, a resident at Menlo Park, served in the military in New Guinea during the Second World War, Herb proudly recounts.

“Carolyn is tops with all the residents,” Director of Nursing Claire Brown said. “They love her. She never says no, she will find a way to help.”

Wilson transferred three years ago to The Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park from a nursing job in corrections after a privatization. This (geriatrics) is a very different kind of nursing, explained Wilson.

Geriatrics can be a difficult field of nursing – dealing with the end of life. “The residents are not going anywhere,” explains Michele Saunders, a registered nurse who works with Wilson. “Many residents don’t have long to live and we can make a difference in the end. We become an extension of their family. We are there for them. We make this time as comfortable as possible for the veteran and for the family. The family develops good friendships with staff, we become an extension of the family.”

“A few years back I was really ill, Wilson recalled. “I appreciated the nursing care I received. I will be eternally grateful to the nurses who helped save and preserve my life. We all need to be a patient at one time to get an idea of what it is like. Just like you have to like yourself before you can like other people.”