After over 10 years in nursing at Regional One Health, Karla Arnold has made an impact on countless lives.
Along with the patients and families she cares for in the Intensive Care Unit, she is a mentor and teacher for younger nurses.
Karla says she is proud to be part of a team that plays an essential role in the Memphis community, and looks forward to a bright future as Regional One Health works toward building a new facility.
Karla Arnold was expecting her first baby when she started as a nurse at Regional One Health. Today, she is mom (and coach, chauffer, etc.) to a 13-year-old, 11-year-old, and 9-year-old.
A lot has changed for Karla, but one thing never will: her dedication to her patients and Regional One Health’s mission of providing exceptional care for everyone. “Our patients are so diverse, and we take care of you no matter what,” she said. “We don’t treat one patient different from the next. That’s a beautiful thing for an organization to be able to say.”
Karla grew up wanting a career in medicine. “I’m the oldest of five, and my mom was a very traditional mama – she just embodied caretaking,” she said. “When you take caretaking and add needles and blood and medicine – for me, health care is such a cool field.”
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and started working as a bedside nurse. When she started at Regional One Health, she was blessed with a manager who became a trusted mentor.
“She was one of my biggest supporters as a young nurse and mom,” Karla said. “She encouraged me through pregnancy and breastfeeding and having two more babies. She made Regional One Health such as good place for me.”
After several years at our Firefighters Burn Center, Karla joined the nursing float pool, where nurses work a variety of units based on staffing needs. During COVID-19, the needs were often on the Intensive Care Unit, and that is where Karla found her calling.
Karla Arnold has found her calling as a nurse in Regional One Health’s ICU. “I love the patients we care for. I love our team and how we’ve got each other’s backs. I love who we are in the community,” she said.
“We see everything – trauma and burn patients, patients with pneumonia, someone who skipped dialysis for two weeks, heart attacks,” she said. “I enjoy being with the sickest patients. You’re with them at life-or-death moments every day, and to be that person for someone is rewarding.”
Karla approaches each patient and family with a desire to offer what they need in the moment.
“Sometimes working a shift is like being in a play. You have to assess what they need to get their care accomplished, and adjust your personality accordingly,” she said. “Some people need you to hold their hand and be their friend. Others need you to lay down the law. Others need you to be an encyclopedia of information. You need to recognize that and adjust quickly.”
She remembers an elderly woman who had been in the ICU for several weeks. During one of Karla’s shifts, the patient went into cardiac arrest.
“I remember holding her hand, and her eyes were so wide – she was so scared,” Karla said. “She was a very spiritual person. She prayed every day. I asked her if she wanted us to pray for her, and she blinked her eyes real big – yes. To feel the peace that came over her was so meaningful.”
As Karla gained experience, she took on leadership roles, including mentoring nursing students who work at Regional One Health as part of their degree program.
“I get to see them come in like deer in the headlights and walk all the way through to graduation and passing their boards and orientation,” she said. “It’s neat to be part of their growth and to see them mature, and to support them after they start working here.”
Part of Karla’s role at Regional One Health includes mentoring new nurses, allowing her to play a role in the next generation of care providers. “It’s neat to be part of their growth and to see them mature, and to support them after they start working here,” she said.
Karla looks forward to continuing in her multiple roles at Regional One Health and adding a new specialty: she recently applied for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist program at University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
She is also excited to join other members of the nursing team to provide input as Regional One Health works toward building a new campus.
“I spent a year at a tiny hospital helping build out the ICU. We literally went around with tape measures marking the outlets and switches. It sounds minor, but it makes such a difference in the nurses’ workflow,” she said. “It can be something you wouldn’t even think of, like if a call light is right behind the head of the bed, someone who is tiny can’t reach it.”
For Karla, investing in Regional One Health and its future is a natural extension of the caring nature she learned from her mom. She realizes how essential the hospital is not only to individual patients, but to making Memphis and the Mid-South a better place to live.
“I love the patients we care for. I love our team and how we’ve got each other’s backs. I love who we are in the community,” she said. “We’re so good at making it work!”