Overtime, the highlights, influential people, unforgettable moments and pivotal turning points over a 50-year career blend together like a mosaic. Step back and you see a single image.
“I think everything has stayed the same, even though there have been many changes,” shares Jo Temer, who retired from Lovelace Medical Center in 2016 as a project coordinator with the education department.
“That’s what I enjoyed the most – the constant change,” adds Gale Hall, who retired from Lovelace Health System as the manager of accounts payable.
The two women were honored as Lovelace Medical Center’s only employees celebrating 50 years of service with the hospital at an employee service awards reception. How they adapted and embraced change over the last five decades, both say, is the reason they stayed all those years.
“I think a lot of people are afraid of change,” Gale says. “Change shouldn’t be scary, I don’t think. For me, it never was.”
“You continue to do your work,” explains Jo. “You adjust to new managers and directors and get to know them. I’m a people person. I like to talk to people.”
Jo began her career as a nursing assistant in pediatrics at St. Joseph’s Hospital, prior to merging with the Lovelace Clinic to become Lovelace Medical Center. “I loved working with kids,” she recalls. “They were my inspiration.”
Gale moved to Albuquerque in 1966 with her husband. “We decided we would move wherever he got his first teaching job,” she shares. They rented an apartment across the street from Bataan Memorial Methodist Hospital, which eventually merged with the Lovelace Clinic. Since Gale’s husband drove their only car to work, she walked across the street in search of a job nearby. “There was only one job available in the dietary department.” Though she had hoped for an opportunity in the business office, Gale says, “They were willing to work with me.”
Meanwhile, Jo found that she needed to be flexible with her career as well. She moved into a new role in central supply as a tech then as a unit secretary in pediatrics. When that unit closed in 1980, Jo transferred into employee health as clerical support before becoming a CPR instructor in the education department in 1991. Each change was a new opportunity. “I really learned a lot,” Jo says of each new role. “I liked what I did throughout the years.” Coincidently, when Jo retired from the education department in 2016, she was back in the same building where her career began.
Gale embraced her first opportunity in the dietitian’s office. “I created the first diet manual that the hospital ever had,” she states proudly. When a position opened in the business office, she began the job on which she would build her Lovelace career. “I did everything – the payroll, accounts payable, cash and general ledger. When Lovelace Health Plan opened in the 1970s, I did the books. I got to see the health plan grow, which was very exciting for us. I went on to manage every department within finance.”
“It’s been a good 50 years,” adds Jo. “If you like what you do, you’ll be happy. I have no complaints.”
“I feel so fortunate that I walked across the street and took that first opportunity,” Gale shares. “It has been quite a journey, but a wonderful one. I can’t say enough about all the wonderful people at Lovelace.”
Top photo: Gale Hall (L) with Jo Temer (R) at Lovelace Health System employee service awards celebration in January.