Donna-Lynn was born in Mississauga and moved to Orangeville when she was four years old. Attending high school at Orangeville District Secondary School, Donna-Lynn was looking for a part-time job. At this time, she had two family members that also worked at the hospital and learned about an opportunity to work part-time in Housekeeping.
By the time she was 17, Donna-Lynn was hired as a member of the Housekeeping team and began working 3:00pm to 9:00pm cleaning the Operating Room and Obstetrics at the Dufferin Area Hospital. On weekends she worked throughout the hospital in different areas and overall it was a great experience.
In her early 20’s, a job opportunity came for a full-time position in Nutrition Services (now called Food Services and Clinical Nutrition). Having such a good experience working in Housekeeping, she jumped at the opportunity to continue working at the hospital but in a full-time role. Landing the Dietary Aid position, Donna-Lynn took a Food and Nutrition Course at Georgian College and every five years, she takes a Food Handlers Course.
A part of the team since before we transitioned to Headwaters Health Care Centre, Donna-Lynn has always enjoyed her job. She is celebrating over 30 years with the HHCC team!
In her current role, she works in the cold room, preparing meals and working the belt line. Donna-Lynn is responsible for knowing all the different diet types, delivering meal trays and doing inventory – helping to ensure all our patients get fed according to their dietary needs.
When asked what her favorite thing about HHCC is, she quickly responded, “Everyone I’ve worked with I’ve had a good experience with. It’s such a sense of family.”
Donna-Lynn recalls a particularly moving moment when her daughter was diagnosed with retinal blastoma when she was just two-years old. The whole hospital came together and provided a large donation to help her and her family with expenses while they were living near SickKids Hospital during her daughter’s treatment. “It was so nice that everyone was thinking of my family at that time. I was just floored that they did that,” she said.
Outside of work, Donna-Lynn loves to go camping during the summer with her family and travel in the winter.
We would like to thank Donna-Lynn for everything she does for our hospital and community!
Photo Caption: (1) Donna-Lynn’s ID badge when she first began working at the Hospital. (2) Donna-Lynn during her shift during the coronavirus pandemic.