Carol Adams RN

The year was 1985, when an LPN came to work at Backus Hospital.
Five years latter she would become an RN.
For 28 years she has served the people of the Norwich area at the bedside, healing them, comforting them.

She has mentored more young nurses than we can recall, she has gained the admiration and respect of her colleagues, the medical staff, and employees across the hospital.
Last week she called it a "shift" when she retired.

But Carol will never truly retire, there is no such thing as a "former nurse."

I came to know Carol in a special way a few years ago.  She has become a teacher, a trusted adviser, and a close friend.
In Washington, she took me to the Smithsonian Museum of Fine Arts and as we went room to room, she patiently explained paintings, giving the history of the artist and the history of when and where the paintings were created.
At social and political gathering, she gracefully moves from person to person, equally at ease having conversations with senators, congresspeople, governors, and waitstaff. When she catches the eye of a legislator, a smile comes to their face.

When I reached out to her to serve as Local 5149's Political Liaison, she graciously accepted.
It is truly a gift having her in the role.
Time and again I turn to her for advise, or help, and she never lets me down.

Carol will no longer be at the bedside, for the first time in nearly 30 years, but she will continue to to serve her colleagues, her profession, the people of the Norwich area, and the labor movement as a retired member of Local 5149, our Political Liaison, and delegate to the AFL-CIO and our State and National Federations.