Staff celebrate the rich history of Saint Mary’s and what it means to be part of this organization
Saint Mary’s first opened its doors to patients in 1908, and since then, 115 years of incredible achievements, tribulations, and growth have marked the history of the hospital and its medical group. Now known as Saint Mary’s Health Network, thousands of lives have been impacted by the healthcare provided inside these walls. Many different employees have walked within the walls of Saint Mary’s and have seen the growth and change of the organization, and here, we are going to feature some of those team members.
October 20, 2023 – In celebration of pharmacy week, we are featuring some of the most tenured pharmacists at Saint Mary’s! Here, we have Jeff (hired in 1986), Beth (hired in 1996), Paul (hired in 1985), and Hamid (hired in 1991). Collectively, these folks have over a century’s worth of knowledge and experience! Beth actually worked in housekeeping while getting her degree at the University of Nevada, and Paul was the Director of Pharmacy for 18 years! Both Jeff and Hamid were hired on as pharmacists and have stayed here for the last several decades.
They all speak incredibly highly of the pharmacy team at Saint Mary’s, with Beth saying that her time here means everything to her. Jeff has had a lot of dedication to helping the nurses and the patients, and he enjoys being a resource for the physicians. Paul says that Saint Mary’s is a wonderful place to work, and he actually came out of retirement to come back to Saint Mary’s because he enjoys how the techs and the pharmacists work so well together (and he also said retirement was boring!) Hamid stated that it’s truly like a family here, and his favorite thing is being able to help the community.
When asked what has motivated them to stay with Saint Mary’s for so long, the answer was a resounding “The people, and the pharmacy team!” This team has watched many advancements in medicine come to life while working here, from the expansion of medicines and treatments to streamlined processes to the automation of prescriptions. Jeff stated that there is a high quality of employees that work here, and it really makes the job so much more enjoyable. Both Paul and Beth stated that they looked forward to seeing the continued growth and high quality care that the Saint Mary’s team provides. We are incredibly grateful to our team members like Jeff, Beth, Paul, and Hamid who are part of the reason that Saint Mary’s excels in providing the best care to our community!
September 15, 2023 – Carla is a beloved member of the radiology team at Saint Mary’s. Hired back in 1990, she began as a dark room tech, developing radiology images that were once done with film. Over the 33 years that Carla has been with us, she has worked in all types of positions in our radiology department, from transport to front desk to imaging assistant to patient coordinator to where she is now as a patient navigator. As a patient navigator, Carla spends a lot of time with cancer patients who have been recently diagnosed, and she helps them navigate through the emotional and often-confusing process of going through the next steps with scheduling procedures and prepping patients for their care plan.
Being born and raised in Northern Nevada, Carla says that “Saint Mary’s has always been here. It’s a huge and important part of Reno, and I get to be a part of it… and that’s really special.” When Carla finished school at the age of 26, she was given an opportunity to work here by a friend who put in a good word for her, and she promised to not let that friend down. Thirty-three years later, she still has not let that friend down and has enjoyed every minute of being at Saint Mary’s.
Carla has seen the imaging and radiology department change drastically over 33 years, going from film-based imaging to what it is now – digital imaging. She also watched the MRI really “come to life” at Saint Mary’s, going from a trailer in the back of the hospital to now having MRI machines in 3 different locations. She says watching this all change has truly been like being part of history.
Carla loves the team she works with and says she would not be who she is or where she is without the support of her team. We are incredibly grateful to our team members like Carla who are part of the reason that Saint Mary’s excels in providing the highest quality of care!
August 25, 2023 – Dr. Richard Bryan is a cardiologist with Saint Mary’s Medical Group, and he has been a part of the Medical Group for over a decade now. However, Dr. Bryan has been practicing cardiology in Northern Nevada since 1996, and Saint Mary’s has always been a significant part of his practice, even when he operated in his own private cardiology practice. In his time at Saint Mary’s, he’s also had several leadership roles, such as being the Chief of Staff, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and the Chief Medical Officer, as well!
Dr. Bryan is native to Nevada, and throughout his time as a physician, he says that Saint Mary’s has always done the best job when it comes to taking care of cardiovascular patients. He also says “the strength of Saint Mary’s is its people – while we may not be the newest in town, the people truly make the difference. Patient care depends on everyone from EVS, to medical records, to patient access, the nurses, the techs, everyone in between all the way up to the physicians, and we have the best team in town.”
Dr. Bryan says that Saint Mary’s is big enough of an institution to provide him what he needs as a cardiologist to deliver the best care, but the culture gives everyone the opportunity to make a real impact on the care we provide. We are incredibly grateful to physicians like Dr. Bryan who are part of the reason that Saint Mary’s excels in providing the highest quality of care!
August 11, 2023 – Tracey has been with Saint Mary’s for over 15 years, and she is our Laboratory Supervisor. She has worked nearly every position in the lab throughout her tenure with Saint Mary’s, including outpatient lab services, phlebotomy supervisor, lab information systems specialist, chemistry, regulatory coordinator, and point of care. She loves being able to work with departments from all over the hospital, and she enjoys working with the techs and the lab assistants because she can help build them up and ensure they know how important they are as front line staff.
Throughout the years, Tracey has valued the way that she and her lab teams have been treated, and she says that “the people are the reason I have stayed so long.” Tracey also had her first and her third child at Saint Mary’s, and she has developed close connections with many of the lab professionals throughout Northern Nevada. We are grateful for all the incredible staff like Tracey who make this team what it is!
July 28, 2023 – Ronda has been with Saint Mary’s for over 25 years, and she is the Payroll Manager for the entire Health Network. She first started with Saint Mary’s in the clerical float pool, then became an administrative assistant before moving to the payroll department, where she has been for more than two decades. Ronda still remembers when the nuns and the sisters would roam the halls of the hospital, and through all the changes that the hospital and the health network have gone through, she truly feels connected to Saint Mary’s and the team.
Ronda is one of many employees who was also born at Saint Mary’s, but even more impressively, she has 3 daughters who were born at Saint Mary’s, 4 granddaughters who were born here, and even a great granddaughter who was born at Saint Mary’s. This health system has become a part of Ronda and her family, and she feels like she has made a family here, too, with the team. We are grateful for all the incredible staff like Ronda who make this team what it is!
July 14, 2023 – Cindee was hired on with Saint Mary’s in 2018, but she has been in healthcare for over 22 years and has lived in Reno since 1989. Originally from Florida, she works in our Business Office as a Medicare Biller and Collector. While she has been with Saint Mary’s for nearly 5 years now, she often considers herself a “newbie” on our team because of the long tenures that many of the staff here have. Cindee is incredibly proud of the work she does and loves the team and the people she gets to work with. She sees her job as a mission to accomplish and feels a sense of victory every time she successfully gets a claim paid, knowing that her work is contributing to the overall wellbeing of the organization.
Cindee has a lot of personal history with the hospital, too – her first back surgery was performed at Saint Mary’s back in the early 90s, her son was born here and stayed in the NICU for two weeks after his birth, and her late husband was treated here as a patient, as well. Cindee constantly goes above and beyond with her work and her team, engaging her coworkers and celebrating achievements in the business office. She takes pride in the work she does and is proud to be at a hospital with such a longstanding history in the community. We are grateful for all the incredible staff like Cindee who make this team what it is!
