Dedicated to helping, Kenneth W. Thomas is a nurse, a Scientology auditor (spiritual counselor) and advocate for the rights of children and the elderly. His profile is one of 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos available on the Scientology website at www.scientology.org.

A registered nurse since 1977, Scientologist Kenneth W. Thomas puts people first.

For the past three decades, this Clearwater, Florida, native has worked in everything from emergency rooms and psychiatric wards to intensive care, burn units, dialysis and nursing homes.

His decision to enter nursing was a very personal one. Thomas’s grandmother became very ill with complications from diabetes, and his frustration at not being able to care for her crystallized his purpose and career choice.

What he encountered in his training and hospital work laid bare for him the human condition. Once he learned how to care for the physical needs of patients, he began another search—to understand the spiritual.

When he read Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health he realized he had found what he was looking for.

“I finally learned how the mind works,” says Thomas. “I could understand my patients and what prompted them to feel and act as they did, and I understood myself.”

He has continued his studies of Scientology for the past 23 years, becoming a Scientology auditor—one who is trained to apply Scientology spiritual counseling to others, from the Latin audire, to listen.

“The communication skills I learned from training as an auditor have enabled me to draw patients out,” says Thomas, 55. “I find that when they can discuss their upsets and problems they usually feel relief, and sometimes that’s the turning point in their treatment.”

Thomas tells of a time his knowledge of Scientology assists helped save the life of a child. Assists are procedures developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that address the spiritual and emotional component in trauma, illness and injury.

“A three-year-old girl in a coma in intensive care was not responding to treatment,” says Thomas. “One of her family members is a Scientologist and asked if I could help.”

All the standard medical remedies had been performed by this point, so Thomas administered an assist. By the time he finished, the little girl opened her eyes. From that point on she continued to recover and was soon discharged from the hospital.

A proud grandfather of four, his love of children led Thomas to become an active member of the Tampa Bay Chapter of CCHR—Citizens Commission on Human Rights. He has co-authored a book, Side Effects, founded Nurses for Human Rights, which fights to eradicate the overmedication of children, and is featured in the award-winning CCHR documentary The Marketing of Madness: Are We All Insane?

The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.

A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, which has now been viewed by millions of visitors.