“Have the best smile on your face and be the best you can.”
Isabelle started working in Food and Nutrition Services at UPMC Williamsport in high school. The job quickly became a passion.
“I really liked the interaction that I was getting with patients,” says Isabelle, who started as a host, bringing meals to patient rooms. “Delivering your food, seeing how you are, do you need anything else? I really liked that.
“I was still helping them in a different way. Because every time they’d see me bring up their dinner, they would light up with excitement and happiness.”
Through her work in Food and Nutrition Services, Isabelle tries to bring happiness to patients and her co-workers. She realized the impact that her work had in her first year, when a cancer patient told her how much it meant to him that she always treated him well.
“The things that these people are going through, you never know,” she says. “If I'm having someone training with me, I tell them that important lesson. Even if you're having a bad day, please put that behind you and just have the best smile on your face and be the best you can.”
The Food and Nutrition Services staff strives to improve patient experience by offering more menu options and making sure patients’ meals arrive hot or cold, depending on what they ordered.
“Focusing on little things can make the patient’s stay good or bad,” she says.
Since starting at UPMC Williamsport as a host, Isabelle has worked many different jobs in her department. She’s learned about food production, finances, retail, and has supervised employees.
She now plans to get a degree in management and continue her work at UPMC in the future.
“I have not seen a facility like UPMC that gives you this much opportunity,” Isabelle says. “I've already been here for six years, so I'm not going to stop that. I might as well just keep growing and keep it going.”
At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means creating a good environment for everyone.
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