Regional Linen Utilization Director
From Hospital Café Worker to Regional Director: How Faith and Resilience Transformed One Woman's Life
From Struggle to Purpose: A Journey of Faith, Resilience, and Leadership
Tammy Shindler — Regional Director, Linen Utilization Services
Every successful career has a beginning, but sometimes the most meaningful beginnings come from places we never expected.
For Tammy Shindler, the journey to becoming a Regional Director in the linen utilization service line for HHS began in a small hospital café in Florida—and grew into a career spanning multiple hospitals, two states, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings.
But behind the professional accomplishments is a much deeper story: one of hardship, addiction, faith, second chances, and a determination to become the woman she knew she could be.
An Unexpected Opportunity
In 2016, Tammy was working in a café at a small hospital in Florida when a linen utilization manager recognized something in her and recruited her into the linen utilization field.
It was an opportunity that would ultimately change the direction of her life.
Tammy spent one year at that facility before transferring to Naples, Florida, where she took responsibility for two hospitals. She lived and worked in Naples for three years, developing her knowledge, leadership abilities, and passion for helping hospitals better manage one of their often-overlooked resources: linen.
Eventually, Tammy’s journey brought her to Virginia.
She began her Virginia career overseeing two facilities and quickly established herself as a leader in linen utilization. For the past six years, she has served facilities including Sovah Health Danville and Sovah Health Martinsville.
Over the past two years, her responsibilities have expanded into North Carolina, where she now provides linen utilization services to Maria Parham Health, Person Memorial Hospital, and Franklin Memorial Hospital.
Today, Tammy oversees five hospitals across the Virginia and North Carolina regions.
Turning Linen Management Into Measurable Savings
Linen utilization may not be the first thing people think about when they consider hospital operations, but Tammy understands that small changes in everyday practices can create significant financial impact.
Her work focuses on optimizing and utilizing hospital linen appropriately—helping facilities reduce unnecessary usage, eliminate waste, improve processes, and ultimately create substantial savings.
At one Virginia hospital, her work has contributed to approximately $300,000 in year-over-year savings.
And that success is not isolated.
Through her work across multiple facilities, Tammy has been able to achieve significant year-over-year savings while helping hospitals develop more efficient and sustainable linen practices.
Her philosophy is straightforward: when you teach people how to use resources wisely, the results can be extraordinary.
But for Tammy, the numbers tell only part of the story.
The Road She Traveled
The woman leading these successful hospital programs today has not always had an easy road.
Tammy came from a less fortunate upbringing and experienced difficult seasons in her life. At one point, she struggled with alcoholism and addiction and spent four years without a job.
It was a period of life that could have defined her.
Instead, it became part of the story she overcame.
Tammy reached a point where she knew she wanted something different. She turned toward God and made a decision that would become the foundation for the rest of her life.
“I want out of this.”
She began drawing closer to God, surrendering control, and allowing her faith to guide her.
For the past 11 and a half years, Tammy has remained in recovery. Her recovery has been a daily reminder of God’s grace, her own strength, and the power of choosing a different path.
One of her greatest motivations has been her desire to break generational curses for her children and grandchild. Tammy wanted to create a healthier legacy—one rooted in faith, stability, perseverance, and hope rather than addiction and hardship.
She chose recovery not only for herself, but also for the generations that would come after her.
And, step by step, doors began to open.
The opportunity to work in linen utilization was one of those doors.
What began as a job in a hospital café eventually became a career, a calling, and a platform through which Tammy could help hospitals succeed.
Faith, Purpose, and Leadership
Tammy doesn’t believe she arrived where she is today by accident.
She believes God led her through every chapter—even the difficult ones.
The challenges she experienced taught her resilience. Her 11 and a half years of recovery taught her the value of a second chance, the importance of perseverance, and the responsibility of creating a better legacy for her family. Her career taught her leadership. And her faith taught her that her past does not have to determine her future.
Today, she brings those lessons into her work every day.
She understands that leadership isn’t simply about a title. It is about showing up, solving problems, encouraging others, creating results, and being willing to step into opportunities that may initially seem far outside your comfort zone.
Her career is also a reminder that someone’s beginning does not determine their ending.
A woman working in a small hospital café could not necessarily have imagined that years later she would be responsible for linen utilization across five hospitals in two states and helping generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.
But that is exactly what happened.
A Message to Other Women
Tammy’s story carries a message that reaches far beyond hospital linen management.
It is never too late to change the direction of your life.
Your past may be part of your story, but it does not have to be the conclusion.
There may be seasons when you feel as though you have lost everything—your confidence, your career, your direction, or your hope. Tammy knows what those seasons feel like.
But she also knows what it feels like to rebuild.
Her life is evidence that restoration can happen one step at a time. Her 11 and a half years of recovery are proof that lasting change is possible, and that one person’s decision to heal can positively influence an entire family.
Today, Tammy is proud of the career she has built, but she is equally proud of the woman she became along the way.
She gives credit to God for guiding her journey and opening doors she could never have opened on her own.
From a small hospital café in Florida to regional leadership across Virginia and North Carolina, her story is one of transformation.
It is a story of faith over fear, purpose over circumstance, recovery over addiction, and perseverance over the past.
And perhaps the most powerful part of Tammy’s story is this:
She didn’t simply survive the life she once had.
She transformed it.
Now, she uses her experience, her leadership, and her faith to make a difference—not only in the hospitals she serves, but in the lives of the people who have the opportunity to know her story.
Her journey is a reminder to every woman who may be standing at the beginning of her own second chance:
Your past does not disqualify you from an extraordinary future. Sometimes, it is the very thing that prepares you for it—and the changes you make today can break generational curses and create a better future for those who come after you.
