Trenia Clark

Text version of Trenia Clark's keynote remarks

My name is Trenia Clark and I work at DePaul Health Center in the Medical Records Department. I’d like to tell you three ways I contribute to our Mission.
When you work behind the scenes the way I do, it can be a challenge to stay motivated. I don’t see the immediate gratification of helping others like they do in the ER or ICU. One day I was in a lunch ‘n learn class and during the introductions a lady turned to me with a warm smile and thanked me. She told me how important it was to receive “old charts” in a timely manner from medical records. Those few words made me look at my job in a different light. Now I race to get STAT requests to the departments, and I work toward my passport goal of 100% accuracy so everyone looking for charts can find those charts quickly. 

I work in a secure department behind a locked door on a dead-end hallway. So if I see someone without a badge, I know they probably need assistance. A cheery “hello” or “you look lost, can I help you?” gives me the perfect opportunity to put my personal goal into action. If they are coming into medical records, I usher them into the department to the receptionist. If she is away from her desk, I assist them with their needs. If they are looking for another department, I can take them where they need to go. To help these people is extremely gratifying for me. This was a challenge in my first few months at DePaul because I didn’t know my way around. So most of the time I was leading people to someone else who knew their way around the facility. This helped me get acquainted with people in other departments, especially HR, which is very close to Medical Records. I have learned from my own experience that when I am in a strange place, a friendly smile and a person who is willing to help me find my way relieves my anxiety.

The third way I help fulfill our mission has to do with roses. My hobby is growing rose bushes – 110 of them. My rose ministry started when I brought in cut roses for my supervisor. Then my co-workers said they would like some, too. So I brought a vase of roses for the reception area and the doctors’ area.  One of the cashiers in the cafeteria saw me walking by with my roses and requested some. Then, the other cashiers said, “How come she’s the only one who gets roses?” So I brought in small vases of roses for each cashier’s station. Then one of the ladies from another department asked me if I would please bring her a rose every now and then. From that, people started stopping me in the halls to comment about how beautiful and fragrant my roses were. They would often say how much they would like to come by house to see my rose garden, because they could only imagine how breathtaking it must be to see all those gorgeous roses. I tell them all my roses are at DePaul.  But that’s OK because that is where I spend most of my waking hours. This way I am able to see the fruit of my labor and bring joy to my coworkers, as well as to people who frequent the cafeteria, the reception area, and the doctors who are in transit to and from their lounge area.  Because some of these people may never get an opportunity to experience the beauty and the fragrance of so many different varieties of roses.

These are three of the ways I contribute to our mission: “Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God.”

Thank you and God bless you all.