Charles, supply chain operations manager of Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, has been working there for about six years. From supply chain tech to manager, Charles is a perfect example of working the way up the ladder to reach success.

How did you find this job?

“I was lucky enough to come into a very welcoming community. Holy Cross is very diverse. You have people from different parts of the world, as you can tell, I’m from Africa, of course, and, also people of different ages, at least my department has like, high school to graduate college graduates and senior citizens.

What do you like most about your career?

It gave me an opportunity to give back to the community. I like what I do because I may not be at the forefront – like dealing directly with patients, but I’m able to at least support the people who are giving that primary health care to the patient.

I feel good when I’m able to see that they have what they need every day to execute their daily tasks.”

Can you tell me a little bit about what you do day to day?

“My role is to first of all ensure that the supply chain department is staffed and we have a conditioned environment for my colleagues to do what they need to do. They have the equipment and they have the resources to do their job.

I’m always in around between 7:30 and 8 a.m. every day. So remotely, coordinating like everyone is at work and everyone is safe to start their day. And I go through the stage, the process of making sure that the supplies that we ordered have come in, and then everyone is ready to distribute that across the entire hospital every day.”

Would you say that almost every day is kind of the same or is there a certain time of the year when you get a lot more supply?

Typically it should be the same, but of course, that, all depends on many other circumstances.

It could be the weather changes and then there are delays, or the season changes. If we have more influenza, and then of course, we need more respiratory supplies or we need more IV supplies at some point parts of the year.

So it fluctuates depending on the season, like flu season versus all the other seasons. So I do notice that there’s demand for different things at certain times of the year. So we kind of plan and forecast based on that rotation.

If you had like a superpower or a theme song for you and your team, what do you think it would be?

I think a theme song would be one by Bob Marley — “Don’t Worry About a Thing.”

You walk into an environment, a community like Holy Cross, and you have no idea what every single person, what their cross for that day is. But as soon as you come in, you have a common objective.

I think if I had a superpower, I would secretly help people carry that other cross so that no one sees the invisible burden that they come in when they come to serve. I would really be happy to help secretly go back and fix those things that they worry about every day.

What do you like about working here?

I like the DMV in general. It’s very diverse, it’s a very diverse community. I love the Holy Cross community because our leadership is very accessible. You work in some institutions and you don’t know who your directors are, but easily I go grab a cup of coffee in the morning and I’m shaking hands, saying hi to the president of the hospital, and he knows me by my first name.

I know who the charging answers or clinical leaders are on the units. So that makes it very relatable and then you know you kind of feel like you’re part of a bigger community and you know like your presence and your contribution is appreciated.

Was there anything else you wanted to share?

Just wake up every day, say a little prayer, and just hope for the best, and of course–everything is gonna be all right at the end of the day.