It happened the first time I met Marcy Alton. Arrows of kindness arced from her like healing medicine. Her fellow employees said, "When Marcy enters a room the light goes up."
At Riverside Methodist Hospital in the 1980's & '90s Marcy demonstrated how ordinary could become extraordinary. After Mark Evans, the finest Human Resources leader in the country, assigned her to the employee recognition event it quickly became a fun & inspiring celebration that genuinely honored caregivers. After she helped establish an on-campus employee convenience center, that service became part of the loving culture that lifted Riverside to rank in America's top 10 best places to work.
Marcy did not cure patients with prescriptions. She healed with her presence.
When you enter a room does the "light" go up or down? Do others feel pleased or afraid? Confident or unsure? Loving or fearful?
The light dimmed when I learned of Marcy's recent death. It will soon rise again for those who knew her. Those arrows of joy she sent out made a permanent impact on thousands.
Thank you, dear Marcy, for leaving a legacy of Radical Loving Care.
-Erie Chapman, President Emeritus, Riverside Methodist Hospital
Note: Thanks to Joe Forquer for helping track down a picture of Marcy.

Leave a comment