Carol Soltes, RN, jokes that she has been a nurse at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center “since before Medicare.”

Carol was hired by the hospital just after she graduated from nursing school in 1963. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities here,” Carol states emphatically.

Carol has worked in virtually every nursing position available. Medical-surgical? Been there. Pediatrics? Done that. She’s also worked in the emergency department and in obstetrics.

All that experience comes in handy in her current position as the preadmission surgical nurse coordinator. Carol takes patients’ histories before they are admitted to the hospital for surgery and calls surgeons if she learns something that will affect the patients’ procedures. She educates patients about their impending surgeries. She ensures preoperative testing is done and makes referrals for services the patient may need after leaving the hospital, such as nursing care at home.

“It’s very diverse,” says Carol. “You have to have a general knowledge of all disease processes.”