JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Carol B. Thomas believes since she was a little girl, God’s plan was for her to take care of those older than her.
“My grandmother always said that I had healing hands and I was just, I don’t know, I just always took a special interest in seniors,” the registered nurse said outside of her new job at the VA Clinic in Jacksonville’s Hogan’s Creek neighborhood.
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Thomas had just received the news that she had won the Hyundai Hometown Heroes Award in the Senior Caregiver category. She was nominated alongside 76 other local senior caregivers. She’ll now receive a 2023 Hyundai Tucson SUV.
“I kind of had a feeling but I wasn’t sure. I’m just grateful that people thought enough about me to even nominate me. I think it’s just a blessing and I’m grateful. I’m honored,” she said.
Thomas’s mother, Yvonne, and older sister, Bess, were there to greet her with hugs when Thomas received the news. Both can attest to her skills. Bess suffered a stroke at the age of 28 that left her partially paralyzed.
“She’s really good. Our worship the ground she walks on,” Bess said. “Anytime I need her, she is right there, no matter what. So, I appreciate her and love her so much.”
Carol Thomas just started working at the Department of Veterans Affairs three weeks prior. She says even though her patients are now all ages of adulthood, she loves to focus on her seniors.
“Just the joy I get from seeing their faces, you know, and they think that they owe me something but really, it’s the joy I get from seeing how happy they are. It’s just the joy I have in my heart from seeing the impact that I make. I think it’s little but they think it’s huge, and I’m just so grateful that I can be a blessing to them.”
These are the nominations that Thomas’ mother and husband, John, wrote on her behalf:
I am nominating Carol B. Thomas as a Hometown Hero. Carol Thomas is an RN who goes beyond the call of duty while she is working as well as when she finishes her shift. After work and sometime before; she provides help to her family, friends, church members, and acquaintances. She helps as a Caregiver for her 91-year-old mother-in-law, and her sister, who is a partially paralyzed stroke survivor. She is always helping someone. She loves to be of service. She has a special anointing and calling on her life to be of service. She helps many in her community and around our city. I know these things because I also receive her care and concern. She is my daughter. Whenever we are out together; inevitably, someone will come up to us to express their gratitude for the help she has so freely given. I must say…I am very proud of her and the knowledgeable, kind, compassionate human being she IS! She is our HERO and I am nominating her as the News4JAX Hyundai Hometown Hero.
Yvonne Brockington, Carol Thomas' Mother
Dear News4JAX,
It’s with great pleasure that I write to you today to nominate Carol Brockington Thomas for the Senior Caregiver, and the Hometown Hero Award. I believe that Carol is the best choice for the Hometown Hero Award because she consistently displays humanitarianism, honesty and is a true public servant. Carol has a deep sense of care for the geriatric population throughout the community. She volunteers her personal time at the local YMCA, sharing her medical knowledge as a senior caregiver to any or all senior citizens. Carol spends her time educating and encouraging her senior citizens in the community to be better advocates for themselves. When people approach, Carol, she has a way to make them feel welcome and put them at ease with whatever questions that they may have for her. A good example of Carol’s commitment to the community is during the COVID-19 pandemic when senior citizens were unable to communicate with their healthcare providers via email or virtually. Carol’s patients would allow her to sit in on their phone conversations to help translate as a mediator between the patient and the provider. She was able to simplify those difficult conversations between the provider and the patient Carol`s skills are numerous and impressive, and she continues to amaze me with skills and traits like: Humility, Honesty, Charisma, Passion and Empathy. I strongly nominate Carol for the Hometown Hero Award and believe that her contributions as a senior caregiver make her the best candidate for the award.
John Thomas, Carol Thomas' Husband