Meet May, A Ray of Sunshine | Altru

Employees at Altru truly care for one another, care for patients 和 care for the community. In 2023, we will be spotlighting employees who have been nominated by their peers for caring for one another.

Mary ‘May’ Thompson is a ray of sunshine in Altru’s central sterile department. Her team describes her as positive, caring, energetic 和 thoughtful.

“May is the ‘ringleader’ to a lot of our team, 愿意学习新事物, goes the extra mile to care for each other. A smile is worth a thous和 words, 和 she never stops smiling. She is referred to as the ‘Energizer bunny of central sterile’ because May goes a hundred miles a minute, 彻底和详细到最后.”

-Casey Wenstad, central sterile department

“Every day, May is asking what she can do to help. 即使没有被告知, she sees one part of the department that could use some help 和 then jumps into action to help out her co-workers.”

-Scott Wasilewski, central sterile department

“Her positivity 和 upbeat attitude are very contagious. She's extremely helpful 和 a very hard worker.”

-Selena，采购部

“Whenever May walks into the room, the mood immediately changes to positivity 和 jokes. She brings out the best in everyone 和 executes her job flawlessly.”

-Jessica Gedde, central sterile department

May was truly humbled 和 overjoyed by the Caring for One Another nomination. Her whole team pulled together to nominate her 和 celebrate her.

“I just always think having respect for your coworkers 和 being respected back is a great way to show caring,梅说。. “In our area, we have a great dynamic. 大家合作得很好.”

关怀社会

When COVID-19 first started 和 everything was uncertain, May took some time off to take care of her immune system. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer 和 she 和 her supervisor made the decision to put her health first, but that didn’t mean that May wasn’t making a difference for her team.

During her time off, May took to making masks for her family 和 friends. When that was finished, she began making them for the community.

“I started making masks for people in the community,” explains May. “I would just tell people to stop by 和 I'll leave them on my front porch, 而且是免费的. We just had people coming 和 going.”

“I absolutely loved that I could do something,梅说。. “People started donating 和 dropping off fabric because I couldn't go out to get it. Then other people would pick up the masks 和 distribute them. 这让我感觉很好. It made me feel like I was making a difference in some way. It's contagious when you do one kind act.”

团队合作让梦想成真

The central sterile team knows that teamwork 和 caring go h和 in h和 when doing their job. They have a part in every surgery that happens at Altru hospital.

“Because we’re a team 和 to keep the flow going 和 people happy, you let everybody know they're doing a great job 和 how important they are, 它们是多么的特别,梅说。. “That's how you keep awesome, awesome.”

When asked how patients have impacted May’s life, she reflected back on the time she worked at Altru Cancer Center.

“Every day our lives are impacted by everything we do for our patients, but I have worked for Altru for about 20 years 和 a few of those years were at the Cancer Center,梅解释道。. “Every day I got to work with such amazing people fighting a battle that we couldn't possibly underst和. They had a major impact on my life.”

“It's been years since I've worked there but since then I've been diagnosed myself,梅说。. “I'm a stage four breast cancer survivor 和, 如果我学到了什么, you just have to stay positive 和 have faith. No matter what life throws at you, make the best of it 和 you will get through.”

May believes that kindness makes the biggest difference for patients 和 coworkers alike.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,梅说。. “Everyone makes a difference no matter what they contribute. I don't know if that was the lesson I was supposed to learn in life or what, but I got it.”