“I’m finishing up my cancer and as far as I know,


I’m doing good,” he said. “They took out a third of my right lung a few years ago, and in 2000 I had bypass surgery. But I’ve been very fortunate. The good Lord has taken care of me, so maybe I can help other peo- ple in some small way.”


I like to try to be a blessing


to people when I can. If I can give back to people and try to help someone along the way, that makes me feel good.


“ ”


FOREVER YOUNG Few people are better


described as a “fixture” at Ozarks Healthcare than Mildred Young. Before she spent 20 years as a volunteer here, she put in 30 years as an employee, managing the laundry. One of her daughters, all three grandchildren and eight of 10 great-grandchildren were all born here.


But in Young’s eyes, the ledger is square, seeing as how she feels she owes her life to the hospital. “In 1959, my second child was born; the hospital had just opened,” she said. “It opened in March, and


she was born in May. And I had a lot of problems during the delivery. If that hospital had not been here, I probably wouldn’t have been here today.” Young is one of the first faces most people see upon entering the hospital. From her seat at the reception desk, she directs traffic, answers questions and often provides an escort to get people where they need to go. “Sometimes when you’re taking people to an


area, you get to visit with them a little bit and you get to hear some of their things,” she said. “Maybe there’s just a word that you can say to them that might help them and encourage them along the way. “I like to try to be a blessing to people when I can. If I can give back to people and try to help someone along the way, that makes me feel good.” Now 84 and in robust health, Young has no in- tention of slowing down. “As long as I can I will do it,” she said. “I’m in


pretty good health; I guess my grandchildren keep me young. God has been good to me, and so I just go back out and try to be a help in some way. I guess I’ll just say I have a giving heart.”


SPRING 2021 | INSIGHT | 17


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