Joyce Moen

I've been working in surgical instrument systems for 31 years, progressing through 7 or 8 different facilities throughout my career. I started at entry level in a small hospital where I stayed for quite a while, not really knowing anything at first. Then I had a chance to go work at a trauma center where I got a supervisor's job. I always wanted to be the one that made a difference with employees, because years ago, these people weren't treated very well. I knew the only way I could really make an impact was if I went into management, so that's what I did. I became a chief for the VA for several years in sterile processing and reusable medical equipment. I took a break from my career to take care of my parents when they got older. My parents were married for 66 years, and after my dad died, I took care of my mom for 5 years until she passed. After that, I got a manager's job and lived in Colorado for 3 years working for Banner Health, but I discovered I couldn't live there because of the oxygen levels and got really sick. I came back to Florida but had a horrible injury when I fell down a flight of stairs. I got a hematoma in my leg that became a blood blister, got infected, and became necrotic, requiring emergency surgery. I was out of work for 9 months and they weren't sure if they were going to be able to save my leg, but I came to North Carolina and got really good medical care here. Now I work for an instrument repair company as a sales rep because I wanted to see the other side of everything. I have 506 accounts and work for HCA, going every day to check in with 4 or 5 people. I do all the education for sterile processing in the OR, which is the value this company brings. I've been here a year.