Dedicated To The Work I Love

Dedicated To the Work I Love

12/8/11

In these times of economic uncertainty a job is a valuable tool to have.  We have heard over the past few years that many people have lost their positions due to the downturn of the current recession.  Even with these events taking place there are some of those who still look positively on their positions and accept the fates of the circumstances.  No matter what is thrown their way these same people continue to set an example of love and dedication to their position that we should take heed and learn from.  Our organization had one of these people and I hope we continue to realize it on a daily basis.

Approximately ten years ago the hospital ventured into a new building project.  The old building was tired and broken down and needed some major improvements in order to keep functioning properly.  The hospital board decided it would make more sense to build a new building instead of making repairs to the current building and then sometime in the near future build another building due to the growth of the community.

When the time came to break ground for the new hospital the board wanted any member of the hospital that was employed at the hospital when it moved from the first building to the current one to participate in this ceremony.  At that time there were only four people that were still with the organization that were able to fit into this category.

On ceremony day the weather was cold, cloudy and drizzly.  Four gold plated shovels were given to the “digging” participants and when it was time to break the ground all four completed the turning of the dirt with smiles on their faces.  Yes the local press were there recording as much as possible, speeches were made and other somber dedications were made to the ones who had dreamed of this moment but had left us previously.  Yes the other hospitals were represented with personnel that had long cared for the entire area and desired to see better health care all around the valley.  But I can guarantee you that none were prouder than the four who actually got to turn the dirt.

The majority of the four diggers are still amongst the community today, two are retired, one is still hard at it in the laboratory and the fourth we just lost this week.  The person we lost was a very dedicated lady in whom the entire hospital knew, liked and respected.  She was a simple lady who was not flamboyant or extravagant in her ways yet she kept a demeanor that was envious to all including the physicians.  She was a family lady with a sense of community that anyone rarely has encountered and a true devotion to her work that outshined each employee on a daily basis.  She always knew your name when you saw her at work and would not be ashamed to speak it in public.

Never did any of us see her in a bad mood nor hear her speak in a cross tone to anyone.  I know she must have had many bad days during her time here, but to us she never showed it.  I still wonder how many names she called us after we walked out of the room though, or how many times she sighed or rolled her eyes.  She would always smile and make light of the situation which we would always interpret that everything was under control.

Some people might have believed that she had an easy job and really did not do much around the hospital.  In fact, her job was the complete opposite, since every nook and cranny on the business end would have to be accounted for.  How many phone calls she must have received over the years with questions concerning money?  I know I had to call her a few times concerning some issues and even though I knew I was cutting the deadline close, every time she gladly did her part to make the situation right.  How many of us actually thanked her for all the favors she did for us.

How many years she sat behind that desk with wisdom and knowledge to hand out but we did not have the time to seek it, all we wanted was to have an answer about money.  How many times did we have the opportunity to sit down and to talk with her and find out how her day was going, and we didn’t.  My mother has always said hindsight is 20/20…I wonder how many of those types of sayings she had.

She worked at our organization for 44 yrs.  Can you imagine the things that she had to deal with or the things that she heard and saw during that time; and just think, how much the world changed during her tenure there.  When she started working for our organization the Vietnam War was ongoing, The Beatles, The Animals, Elvis, and Jimi Hendrix were popular musicians.  As time went along, her children were being raised and then going to school.  Graduation came next and then grandkids.  No internet or cell phones were created and computer problems were not even an issue then either.  Yet she could have quit at any time when these huge changes occurred but she continued the course and gave it all she had.

As these years have passed how many of us just said our casual courteous morning routines to her and then went on our merry way and completed the tasks of the day.  How much time did we spend with her, getting to know what was in her world or her opinions about last weeks’ sports scores.  Did we know her favorite colors, favorite foods or even what her hobbies were?  Most of us, including myself do not know these things about a coworker that has been with us for almost ½ a century.

As it became known that she had a terrible disease we began to pay a bit more attention to her and ask a few more questions about her condition but for the majority of the time we had no idea of what or how she was doing.  Why does it take this type of situation for us humans to begin to pay attention to someone that we have relied upon for so many years?  The obvious answer is that we are busy and our daily lives did not have time to include her.  This is sad in my opinion and to be honest shameful as well.  I could say so many more words about her, enough to fill an entire book and still not captivate the full essence of her being she was that amazing of a human being.  Yet, for as little of her I knew probably would have not touched the tip of the iceberg concerning the size of her heart.

For the past few years you have put up a valiant fight against your disease.  Not once during this time have I witnessed you allowing yourself or your family to become discouraged.  Even in these times of distress, you have stood tall and have once again set a standard for us to go by.  I know that there must have been times of tears but we never saw them.  Your stiff motherly strength has shown through towards us even during your sickest moments.  And God forbid that if another one of us in our hospital family has to stare down a similar condition that we will remember you and defend life as you did.

 

Now, we no longer have the opportunity to seek advice from her, nor can we see that smile that she always portrayed each day.  We have her in our thoughts and our memories and that is what we will have to remember her by until it is our time to say goodbye to this world.  So we say goodbye to you Miss Alice.  You did your duty with all dignity and you served your county well and every time we walk into the hospital cafeteria we will be reminded of who you are.  And when people who did not know you ask us where the name of the hospital cafeteria originated from, we all can stand proudly with our chests held high and say, it got its name from Alice, a good friend and coworker whom I know you would have loved to know. 

Let us remember to do a better job in getting to know the people we work with.  Yes, I know that not all of us will always get along or even become close friends but there is a certain bond that we share at our little zoo and we should at least have the decency to be acquainted with all of the monkeys…don’t you think?