Florence (Flo) A. LeClair

Care Coordinator Emergency Room | UMass Memorial Medical Center

You could say that nursing defines Florence A. LeClair – who prefers to be called Flo. Since 1972, she has dedicated herself to serving the health care needs of others and credits Quinsigamond Community College for laying the foundation for her career.

A lifelong Worcester resident, she enrolled at the David Hale Fanning School immediately after high school and became a licensed practical nurse in 1972. Flo spent a few years in the workforce, but felt she needed additional training, so she entered QCC, earning her associate degree in 1978. "I had great bedside manner and clinical training, but when I went to QCC, I learned the theory behind what I’d been practicing for the last six years," she said, adding that she also received a BSN from Assumption College in 1988.

For the last 30 years, Flo’s career focused primarily on hospice and palliative care. She began in the oncology palliative care unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center and worked in this field at the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) for 11 years. In 1995, she started the hospice program at UMass Memorial Medical Center and worked there until 2010, when she became case manager in the emergency room at UMass Memorial.

Flo’s ties to Quinsigamond continue as she oversees a scholarship established in her sister’s name. Carmen Tobin graduated from the nursing program at QCC in 1984 and unexpectedly died two weeks later. Her brother-in-law was so moved by what the College had done for his wife that he created the nursing scholarship to provide financial assistance to other students.

For Flo, the small school community atmosphere at Quinsigamond proved to be ideal. "I felt the professors supported us and thought the nursing program was high caliber," she said. "This program presents a good way to taste the different health professions available."