RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — It's not every day that you meet a pair of identical twins, but even less likely is having the opportunity to bump into two pairs of twins during the same 24 hours.
However, some patients at a hospital in Russellville have been seeing double— thanks to a pair of nurses who have chosen to kick off their careers there.
"We knew that both of us wanted to be in Russellville," said Olivia Barnes.
Twin sisters Olivia and London Barnes both work at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, and they said neither one of them knew they'd end up in the same hospital and in the same unit.
"We both got picked for ICU. And so after that, we were just kind of like, oh, we really, really liked it. So we didn't mean to end up in the same unit, but it worked out that way," Olivia described.
The only difference between them is their hours.
"One of us is days, one of us is nights," she added.
However, that can sometimes leave patients confused.
"They definitely get confused. We're used to it. So, like, it doesn't bother us. We're always, you know, being called the wrong name," said London.
It's something that has had the patients thinking they are working overtime.
"If London doesn't give the chance to introduce me, or if she wasn't the patient's nurse, then I come in, they're like, oh, like, aren't you tired? 'Like, don't you want to go to sleep?' And I'm like, oh, like, actually, I just got here, like, I'm good to go," Olivia explained.
They said working together at Saint Mary's has been a full circle moment since it is where it all started for them 22 years ago.
"We were born here at Saint Mary's, which is kind of fun. One of our professors at Arkansas Tech, she was in the delivery room with us, and she's a house supervisor here, so it's kind of crazy getting to work with her and seeing her around," London said.
There's another twin twist to this story— they aren't the only identical siblings working in Saint Mary's Regional Health System.
Robbi Williams and Rayli Haas are ten years older than the Barnes twins and work over in the Millard-Henry Women's Clinic. They both said they deal with the same things that the Barnes twins do.
"We confuse a lot of people all the time," said Williams.
Though they said they wouldn't have it any other way.
"We've always worked together, like anywhere we've worked we've always worked together. We went to school together. We had all the same classes in high school together," she added.
"We're just very close. It's like having a best friend that's always with you," said Haas.
Williams and Haas both have tattoos of each other's handwriting so that they're together even when they're apart.
To top it all off, they even have dogs that look alike.