Nursing is in the genes of Grace Heffron 
When Grace Heffron, RN, graduated from nursing school in 1967 a first-class stamp cost $.05, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series and Christiaan Barnard, MD, performed the first human heart transplant. Grace’s first position was as an intensive care staff nurse. “I guess you could say that nursing is in my genes,” laughs Heffron. “My father and four uncles were doctors and my mother and three aunts were nurses. I was never pressured to go into nursing, but by the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be a nurse.”
Grace eventually became a part-time supervisor and then worked as the intensive care unit manager at Houston Northwest Medical Center for 28 years. She recently stepped down from that position to become an ambulatory care staff nurse. “I knew it was time to slow down, but I still wanted to work with patients,” says Heffron. “In my current job I get to do what I love doing. I can interact with families, as well as teach and answer questions from patients about the care they will receive when they are in the hospital.”
Nursing is more than a paycheck for Elaine Eilers
In 1976 when Elaine Eilers, RN, started her nursing career at Houston Northwest Medical Center the nation celebrated the bicentennial, Viking I landed on Mars and a first-class stamp cost $.13. Elaine first worked at the hospital as a nursing care assistant after completing two years of junior college. But at the urging of several co-workers to go to nursing school, she earned her degree and returned to work in the hospital’s orthopedic and post-operative areas for more than 20 years. In 1999 she moved to the outpatient surgery department.
“This job is more than just a paycheck, it is my choice to be here because I really enjoy taking care of people,” says Eilers. “Nursing is an excellent, flexible profession that has allowed me to work my entire married life and raise a family. I love the atmosphere here and the mental challenges that come from learning and adapting to the many technological changes that have improved patient care over the years.”
Nursing is a way of life for Debbie Kasper 
By 1977 when Debbie Kasper, RN, started her nursing career at Houston Northwest Medical Center, people were lining up to see “Star Wars” at the movie theater and buying the soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever”. Debbie, fresh out of nursing school, fit right into the hospital’s intensive care unit and has been there ever since in roles ranging from staff nurse to charge nurse. “I chose nursing because of the flexibility in hours and have stayed because I love the challenges of caring for critically ill patients and seeing how advances in medicine have improved so much over the years,” says Kasper. “I can understand what family members are going through having a loved one in the hospital because I have been in their position. That’s why I always make it a point to let them know that when they leave the hospital after visiting hours are over that I am here watching over their family member. That is reassuring for them.”