Julia, in Environmental Services, started working at Headwaters in 1987 as one of the first female Porters. The midnight shift was a grueling job and very different than the role of a Porter today. Julia remembers shoveling snow out of the parking lot at 02:00, her young son showing up with a shovel offering to help.
After one year as a Porter, Julia applied for a full-time position as an Environmental Services Aid and got it! Her parents lived in Orangeville and her daughter, Christina, was born at Headwaters. Christina has also worked as a Ward Clerk at Headwaters for the past 12 years.
Over time, the hospital began to feel like home and colleagues became family. The moment that sticks out most is when a patient lost an earring. The earring clearly had a lot of sentimental value for the patient as she was just beside herself. Julia went through all the sheets, the mattress and over eight bags of laundry trying to find it - all to no avail. At the end of the day, the patient had discovered the earring in her personal belongings. The patient, moved by Julia’s willingness to help, contacted leaders at the hospital. Julia was recognized by the same man who hired her as a Porter many years before, her union and manager.
Last year, Julia retired after a 30 year career here. It only took two weeks for her to miss her Headwaters family and come back on a temporary part-time basis. Julia said “I will feel like I have achieved something from my time at Headwaters, if I have helped my colleagues understand, that it’s the little things you do for people that really do mean the most.”