The following poem is about Florence "Mac" Thompson who was a public health nurse in Clay County, NC for 40 years. This poem was displayed at a gala dedication ceremony for the University of North Carolina Hospitals for Women and Children in Chapel Hill, September 8, 2001.
THE STATE NURSE
For forty years Mac fought
polio, diphtheria, whooping cough,
all diseases that threatened
the health of mountaineers.
She worked to heal
the bleeding hillsides,
to feed the hungry,
comfort the brokenhearted.
She helped rid poverty
from the rural region.
She worked for power
to light dark homes,
and brought joy to sad
faces filled with pain.
She gave hope to patients
who gave up on life.
The state nurse traveled
muddy roads and forded
Shooting Creek to reach
sick, bedridden folks.
For forty years, Mac Thompson
touched the lives of people.
She cared for mountaineers
with a heartfelt love.
--Brenda Kay Ledford
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