Operating room nurse Ellie Tarnoviski, RN, was taking a walk with a colleague this past summer when she happened upon Margaret and Chip, a couple from Florida who spend their summers in New Jersey. Tarnoviski caught a glimpse of their face masks, recognized that they were made from the blue sterilization wraps used to cover medical instruments, and struck up a conversation.
She learned that Margaret had made the simple, but beautiful masks herself and was planning to transform more wraps into mats, bags, and masks for homeless veterans, as well as nap mats for kindergarteners from low-income families. Inspired to help, Tarnoviski swapped phone numbers with Margaret and invited her coworkers to join her in saving hundreds of blue wraps, taking the “trash to treasure” adage seriously. She sorted them by size, crammed them into her car, and made two deliveries to the crafty couple in the summer and early fall.
“It has been a blessing to be able to gather these supplies and to support Margaret and Chip in their desire to give back to the community,” Tarnoviski said. “She also made more than 200 masks for our team as a thank you. I feel like I have a friend for life. When they return next summer, they know to get in touch, and we’ll start the collection again. All this because we were brought together by chance!”
At Penn Medicine, we all aspire to be Difference Makers who represent the Penn Medicine Experience (PMX) in action. PMX sets a consistent standard across all of our entities and work locations to make every touchpoint an opportunity to build enduring connections with patients, families, visitors, and colleagues, which is a foundational part of the UPHS Success Share program.