Today's Featured Biography

 
Karen Mathiasen Cornelius

As you may remember from my HS years, I wanted to go to nursing school so I could be an airline stewardess and fly around the world. Well, that never happened. I loved the fast pace of critical care nursing which became my career.
    
When I left Aruba, I wanted to go to wintry weather thus I started my college at Dean Junior College in Franklin, MA. Upon graduating from Dean and receiving an AS Degree, I continued my education at Cornell University (New York Hospital School of Nursing—a two/three program—five years to get a degree) in New York City, NY graduating in 1964 with a BS in nursing. Many years later, in 1975, I furthered my education by attending Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. I received a Master of Science in Nursing - majoring in Nursing Administration, Nursing Education and Critical Care.

All of my years in nursing were rewarding. I was lucky to have graduated from an excellent nursing program initially and to have received a BSN to start my career. Then ‘being in the right place at the right time’ also helped give me a wealth of experience. I was elected into Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing in 1995, for my clinical contribution to the nursing profession.

I worked at Cornell University-New York Hospital in New York City for six years, starting initially in the post-operative surgical nursing department and was promoted in 1965 to become head nurse/supervisor in the post-operative surgical and cardiovascular intensive care unit. This started my love affair with the fast-paced environment of critical care nursing. In this unit I worked with Dr. C. Walton Lillihei, a pioneer in cardiac surgery. Working with Dr. Lillihei I was exposed to many firsts but the biggest was my responsibility for establishing post-operative nursing care criteria, delivering and supervising the care for the first heart and both lungs transplanted in the US in 1969 which was performed by Dr. Lillihei. In addition to working in NYC, I loved living in the city. It was fabulous being in NYC in your 20’s, what fun my 9 years were there. I still need to go back regularly for my ‘New York fix’. Finally Ben is accustomed to NYC and he too enjoys our frequent visits there. I just returned, beginning of May, from my 45th reunion. We had 25 classmates and some spouses attend, it was fabulous.

In 1970 I moved to Atlanta, just as Atlanta was ‘growing up’ to be the biggest city of the South. What fun it was to be a part of that experience. I went to work at Grady Memorial Hospital, which was one of the largest trauma centers in the US in the early 70’s and its affiliation with Emory University made it a teaching mecca. My initial job was Nurse Clinician for post-operative surgical services, this role included developing and delivering specialty care to any post-operative patient and teaching the RN’s this criteria. Since Grady had the largest/busiest emergency department in Atlanta and Grady was a teaching institution, I was continually exposed to innovative developments in trauma medicine. After 3 years as a Nurse Clinician, I joined the faculty at Grady Memorial Hospital-School of Nursing, a diploma program. I taught senior students, emergency and surgical intensive care nursing in both the classroom and clinical setting. My exposure at Grady to teaching and the field of trauma added new dimensions to my nursing career. These new interests stimulated me to return to school and increase my knowledge and expertise in critical care nursing and teaching; hence, I went to graduate school. Just before I went to graduate school in 1975, I met my ‘main man’ Ben Cornelius and he still fills that role and so much more. It was the longest year at Medical College of Georgia, as I was in Augusta, GA and Ben was in Jacksonville, Fl but I survived. Upon graduating in 1976, I got married in Jacksonville and I am still here in the suburbs, Ponte Vedra Beach. I am blessed in marriage as Ben is the best; he is the gentle and calm to my type A personality. It was amazing to me—the more I moved south, the lower my salary went, even when I had another degree, what does that tell you, oh well!

My first employment in Jacksonville was Nursing Director of Critical Care Services at Memorial Hospital. I helped develop the first critical care nursing department in Jacksonville by joining the coronary care unit with the surgical intensive care unit into one unit and cross training nurses in those units to care for all critically ill patients. Today Critical Care units are the norm not the exception. Part of my responsibility was to be the nurse representative for development of a new critical care center at Memorial Hospital. This proved to be challenging, getting Physicians, Administrators, Engineers and Nursing to agree on what was needed in a totally new free standing Critical Care Center. With the advent of the Critical Care Center came the specialty Physicians. Any new medical advances that were implemented by the Physicians, I developed the nursing care criteria and taught the nursing personnel, including Cardiac Surgery, renal dialysis, intra-aortic cardiac assistance, etc. This job was definitely challenging.

In 1982, I became Director of Nursing Education at Baptist Medical Center where I was responsible for all orientation and educational programs for nursing at Baptist. In 1983, Baptist proposed a joint venture with Jacksonville University, a private college, to develop a new baccalaureate nursing program. I became chair of a committee to develop the entire curriculum for that program. This was a truly wonderful and rewarding experience.

In 1985, I became a Professor at Jacksonville University, where I taught senior BSN students Critical Care and Emergency Nursing courses in the classroom and clinical setting. Additionally, I taught classes within the pathophysiology course. In the summer of 1991 and 1992 I taught the same courses to RN’s obtaining their BSN degree. In 1990, the students elected me Professor of the Year, I was extremely honored and surprised. It would be through teaching and the marriage of trauma and cardiovascular nursing that I received my greatest rewards.

After retiring from nursing in 1993 I ‘needed’ to do something; I was becoming bored and my ‘right brain’ needed some working. An interior designer friend of mine, Margie, asked if I could help her on occasion in her studio--this adventure led us to purchasing a franchise with a custom furniture business called Expressions Custom Furniture—WOW—retail is something else!!! I had that business for 5 years, finally selling it in 1998, thank heavens! When we sold the store, Margie went back into interior design work; I occasionally help her with the design end but mostly I keep her books, and the office organized. I am also involved in the care of my 97 1/2 year old Mother who is in an ASL but one needs to be ever present. Mother is mentally alert, still writing poetry, loves word games, crossword puzzles and bingo. She is physically challenged as she has had years of spinal stenosis affecting her spinal cord so she is in a wheelchair.

Ben is a CPA and had his own firm for 30+ years until he retired in 2005. Retired???? He still goes there 6-7 days per week during tax season and then the rest of the year he is a part time CFO for a manufacturing firm. I wonder if he will ever slow down?

We both love to travel and do so as often as we can—crossing off our list outside the US but also making sure we see all of the US. We ‘play at’ the game of golf, having taken this game up way too late. We are less than good but enjoy the game. We have been boaters for years, owning sailboats mostly and sold our last boat (motor cruising boat) last year. It is GREAT to be boat free now. We have chartered in the past in BVI, Greece and the Chesapeake and will continue to charter for our boating enjoyment. Ben was a big participant in racing, in our river, off the coast here in the Atlantic Ocean and he also raced 3 times from Daytona Beach to Bermuda and once from St. Petersburg, FL to Cuba. He won in several categories on two of the races to Bermuda.

Our two children (my step children), Cabeth and Mike live here in Jacksonville. Cabeth graduated from Parsons School of Design in NYC. She majored in fashion design—hasn’t designed a thing! She has an eye for fashion but has never worked in that field. Currently she is Director of Art at the Jacksonville International Airport. She selects the artists that will be on display in the entire airport plus their gallery. She loves any connection with art. Cabeth has a talent herself but she says her personality does not fit the need to continually create art to make a living. What a shame! Ben and I are lucky recipients of several of her pieces of art. Mike is still ‘figuring out’ what he wants to do but we are pleased that he is self sufficient and happy. He currently works as a painter which keeps him steadily employed. He loves to camp and does so as often as he is able.

Our lives are full but we are living, healthy and enjoying our family, friends and now we are getting reacquainted with memories of the past, with reunions. As the saying goes, ‘Life is Good’! Can’t wait to see everyone.

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