A Pioneer in Education, Carolyn Thurston

by Johanna Selmeczy, Staff Writer

Carolyn Thurston, President and CEO of Wisdom Senior Care and Founder of the Wisdom Health Academy, showcases a success story that is the epitome of helping others. From a nurse working in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to a franchisor sporting an innovative education methodology, Thurston’s unrelenting support for both senior citizens and aspiring healthcare professionals highlights how philanthropy and prosperity can coexist. Oftentimes, financial success seems inextricably tied to selfishness. But for Thurston, the exact opposite is true.

Wisdom Senior Care:

Thurston founded Wisdom Senior Care in 2006, after working as a nurse for 20 years. Guided by core principles of kindness, compassion and respect for the elderly, her business steadily grew to 12 franchises. While the majority of Wisdom franchises have stayed in North Carolina, there are now locations in New York and Florida.

As Wisdom expanded, interested clients began flooding in. However, Thurston quickly discovered that hiring quality caregivers could be a challenge. A prospective employee may be certified, but the bedside manner Thurston expected from a licensed nurse aide wasn’t always present in new hires. Thurston needed a reliable training method to ensure her standards were being met.

“One of the biggest questions I would get back from seniors when I would send a caregiver to their home, they would say ‘Carolyn, let me ask you something. Is this person a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)?’” Thurston described. “And I would say ‘Yes, why do you ask?’ and they’d say ‘well, I don’t know… they didn’t know how to make a bed.’”

Hearing these complaints baffled Thurston, because her background in nursing trained her extensively in proper bedside manner. She realized that the majority of the elderly population didn’t prioritize the certification their caregiver had on paper compared to their soft skills and flexibility in meeting the clients’ wants and needs. She founded Wisdom Health Academy with the goal of teaching those practical skills alongside the necessary technical vocabulary and nursing know-how.

One thing we believe is that investing in (people) is important.

Wisdom Health Academy:

At first, Thurston only trained her own caregivers. As time went on, however, she learned that licensing the Wisdom Health Academy would allow her to certify anyone taking her courses as a CNA. Thurston licensed the Wisdom Health Academy in 2012, and the program took off as prospective nursing school students enrolled in CNA classes over the summer.

“It was never the goal at the time it started, (we only wanted) to train my own caregivers,” Thurston said. “But now we have people coming from all over the place, wanting to get trained, whether they would stay with us or they would go work elsewhere.”

Thurston’s classes don’t stop at teaching students textbook nursing techniques and terminology. She also ensures that students understand the importance of proper bedside manner and soft skills, particularly when interacting with seniors.

“We’re going into their home,” Thurston said. “That’s usually their safe, personal space. So if you get an invitation to come to my home, that means you have a special place in my heart. You need to respect that.”

In addition, Wisdom offers personal development courses focused on supporting new employees as they climb the career ladder. Right off the bat, Thurston shows her caregivers a comprehensive “growth ladder” they could follow to potentially become a franchise owner in the future if they’re so inclined.

“We go above. If they’re working truly for Wisdom, then we take them above what the state requires,” Thurston described. “They are put on a path to personal development, learning how to… build teams. They want to become supervisors, they want to become managers. They want to eventually become a franchise owner.

“We have people who come in as a home aide, no certification. They go through, they get their Nurse Aide I certification, they move up the growth ladder and at each of these points they’re provided education.”

Wisdom Health Academy’s motto is “If we can help everyone who comes into Wisdom Health Academy, then they can proceed to help the world”. This ideal extends to every aspect of Thurston’s philosophy regarding Wisdom, as she lifts individuals up from within the organization to promote continual growth for the company as a whole.

“One thing we believe is that investing in (people) is important,” Thurston explained. “So whether they stay with us or they go somewhere else, we believe that it’s important to invest in them.”

Ahead of her time:

The Wisdom Health Academy was founded in 2013, years before the recent labor crisis which has left many employers scrambling to find qualified and interested employees. Meanwhile, Thurston has years of experience under her belt in retaining quality hires. For example, Wisdom Health Academy never makes Wisdom caregivers pay for their courses, inspiring employees to stay with the company for a longer period of time.

“Our caregivers do not pay for it,” Thurston said. “A lot of our franchisees have paid for, invested in their Nurse Aid Is to get their certification. They often pay for their whole training. Some do have a stipulation on a list that their employees would agree to stay with them for one year after they get their certification.”

Thurston also digitized her courses before most, having considered the transition even before the pandemic hit. Doing so has brought students in from all over the United States, even though in order to become fully certified they do need to travel to North Carolina for an in-person examination.

“Even before COVID we’d been talking about taking things online, doing hybrid, and there were always so many reasons not to do something,” Thurston explained. “But now I think COVID has taught all of us that online is not all bad.”

Future plans and leaving a legacy:

The future looks bright for Wisdom Health Academy. This year, a medication administration class has been added to the academy, and a Continuing Medical Education (CME) class is in the works to be added soon. Ultimately, Thurston’s goal is for Wisdom Health Academy to offer both a 2-year accreditation and 4-year diploma program to students within the next five years.

“So within the next five years, we plan to have more class offerings within the health industry and business,” Thurston said. “So we are launching as part of the business piece the idea that early in their careers, we can share information about their careers about franchising.”

Currently, Carolyn’s youngest daughter is the administrator of the Wisdom Health Academy. She organizes the hiring of instructors, curriculums that need to be done, and, in Thurston’s words: “I mean, she keeps the school moving.”

“I think it’s exciting that my daughter is able to find her passions,” Thurston said. “And (that) I could be a part of opening that door for her. I think that’s really, really satisfying and helps me feel really good that she’s found something she can thrive in.”

Leaving behind a legacy seems to be part of a day’s work for Thurston. She sees a need. She creates a solution and she executes a plan. Her advice to those looking for their career paths?

“Move forward. Don’t lose focus. Learning online is great, but you still need that personal one-onone relationship that you will use in the field. We can’t lose sight of that. But I would say be sure to really move forward in any way that you can and educate yourself. It will help no matter what industry you’re in. It helps the end customer.”

To learn more about Wisdom Health Academy, visit: https:// wisdomhealthacademy.com/

To learn more about Wisdom Senior Care, visit: https://wisdomseniorcare.com/