August 29, 2024
A Lifetime of Caring
By: Sara Ergott
“When a person decides to become a nurse, they make the most important decision of their lives. They choose to dedicate themselves to the care of others.” - Margaret Harvey. If you have walked the hospital hallways in the last thirty years, you have probably had the privilege of crossing paths with Larry Lechleitner, an emergency room nurse and now a staff member of the Wyoming County Healthcare Center. His dedication to his career speaks to Margaret Harvey’s words as he embodies the very essence of caring for others.
Born in Nanticoke to Clayton and Pearl Lechleitner, Larry was the middle of three active boys. Pearl, being only 5’1, was still a force and disciplinarian of their antics. Larry’s family lived in the town of Register, named so as the place where people would register to vote back in the 1800s. After graduation from Northwest High School, Larry enrolled in Wilkes-Barre Vo-Tech and earned a degree as a licensed practical nurse. His classmate Peggy Comstock told him of a job opening at Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock as she herself was employed there. He came up for an interview and was hired immediately.
“In my mind, it was a temporary job because it was forty miles away from my home in Register. I figured I would work there six months to a year. Well, this then became thirty years!” recalls Larry.
He was working in the Tyler Wing med-surge department at the time when he met a ward clerk named Cindy. This meeting sealed his duration of being employed at Tyler, as he and Cindy got married in 1986. With a chuckle, Larry stated, “Cindy likes to say that I married her to be closer to work.”
During his time as part of the med-surge staff on the second floor of the Tyler Wing, his job entailed patient care, treatments, and manual charting. At the time, the wing was filled with patients. Larry remembers when Dr. Reinheimer would come in each day at 11:30 and together they would walk down the hall to check on each room. This was how the staff was. Everyone worked together and there was a tremendous team effort and team spirit.
“When I started fresh out of school, the other nurses couldn’t help enough. Everybody here worked together and answered all questions without getting upset. I immediately felt at home as we worked together, all for the good of the patient,” states Larry.
After two years, Larry then transitioned to the emergency department. The job was posted, so he interviewed again and got the job. It was in this position that he would remain for over twenty years. The ER department had a totally different atmosphere from the routine job on the med-surge team. One had to deal with whatever was coming through the ER doors and be ready for it. This included anything from pencils stuck in ears to dangling fingers.
“Once there was a man who had a Bobcat roll over him on his forehead. When he came in, he was holding his head together with the palm of his hand. He got stitched up pretty quickly and was able to walk back out the door,” remembers Larry.
Over the years, Larry saw up to four generations of people from all over the area. He stated that it was such a rewarding career in the sense you would encounter people out in the community who would be so thankful for what the team had done for them in the hospital. One moment that truly left an impact on him involved three sisters. The women had been on a shopping trip together throughout the day. On the way home, one of them appeared to have had a stroke and was brought to the hospital by ambulance and was unresponsive. The sisters were very distraught and didn’t know what to do.
Larry recalls, “I told them, you need to talk to her. I don’t know what she can hear, but act like you are still out shopping and she is sitting here listening to you.”
The women did so and spent hours with their sister telling stories and sharing memories, which helped to calm them both and give peace to an otherwise stressful and sorrowful moment. Their sister did pass away that night, but they were so thankful to have had Larry there to help them through that experience by giving them the wisdom to know how to spend their last hours with her. His insight and compassion enabled them to process a tragic event into a comforting parting. For years after, every time Larry saw the sisters in public, they treated him like family.
It was situations like this that reminds Larry, “patients are your friends and friends are your patients.”
After over thirty years in the nursing field Larry retired, but he couldn’t stay away from the hospital building for long. When the building was purchased in 2023 and became a non-profit organization, Larry knew he wanted to be a part of the team. He is currently working with the maintenance and custodial staff of the recently formed Wyoming County Healthcare Center. He is once again able to walk the hallways and make an impact on those around him.
When asked what he is most looking forward to happening at the Center, he replied, “The building is old, but the ideas here are young, new, and fresh. The staff here is very enthusiastic and committed to the community. The more specialists and services that can be provided in this space will decrease travel time to other areas. This really is a place where local people are taking care of local people.”
These words define what the Wyoming County Healthcare Center intends to do, take care of its people, and Larry will be able to continue “dedicating himself to the care of others.”
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