"It makes a difference what we do here," says Kara Eldridge, a Butler County Community College nursing student who since April has been screening visitors at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis three days a week. So she makes it a point to positively engage each person who comes in or out of the hospital.
Last week, however, she took it to a new level, prompting one vendor to send a message to leadership: "Your screener on the 2nd floor is one of the kindest humans; she's giving people she sees regularly flowers and cookies."
Eldridge was surprised when asked about the gifts.
"I just woke up today and thought, 'Life is short and I see so many nice people," she says, so she wanted to respond in kind. So she made small flower arrangements, coupled them with packaged cookies and began giving them to her "regulars."
Eldridge clearly loves her job, which she says is a good fit for a "people person" like her.
While a few people may grumble about the screening process, Eldridge says that's easily turned around in most instances by "just noticing the simple things and actively showing I'm interested and care about their happiness and well being."