As Barbara Fout Tackitt notes in the prologue to her book that was published last year about being a traveling country nurse, her first job was in a small 20-bed hospital in Flora, Illinois. She was the second shift supervisor and only RN. After 5 p.m., she became a “one-woman show.”
Flora is where BMA opened its first affordable assisted living community in 2001. The Heritage Woods of Flora community operates through the Illinois Supportive Living program and serves adults 65 and older of all incomes who need some help to maintain their independence. It houses 52 studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Located in Clay County, Illinois, about two hours east of St. Louis, Flora is a rural community. Its main industry is agriculture. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,070.
In November 1985, Barbara became a home health nurse for the Clay County Health Department. She spent nearly 30 years traveling small rural county roads, going to the homes of older adults who were very ill and frail.
Her book “Movin’ On” is a collection of stories about the people she encountered along the way.
Rod Burkett, who is the President and CEO of BMA Management, is a native of Clay County. He had the opportunity to work with Barbara when he was with the Clay County Health Department.
His comments about Barbara’s book are featured on the back of the book jacket.
While Barb describes her “journey of providing care and compassion to her patients, the reader is captivated by the lessons she learns by simply being open-minded and engaging with all that the universe has to offer. She captures the deep, rich characters that were her patients, while reflecting the powerful Midwestern values that were reinforced in her,” Rod says.
It is a great message for “health care professionals and for everyone who is interested in continuing personal growth and development.” It is “the ultimate story of sincerely giving to others… and receiving much more in return.”
Barbara’s primary job was to educate her patients and provide them with the tools they needed to care for themselves.
Along the way, she says, her patients helped shape her into the person she is today and taught her much about life.
After each story about her patients, Barbara talks about what she learned from them.
Those lessons include: “sometimes in life, you just have to take a leap of faith,” “maybe we don’t have it as bad as we think we do,” and “the key to being happy is to find joy in everyday life.”