Terry King’s day starts early. “I get here at 5:15 a.m. I walk the grounds to make sure there’s no debris. I clean the front doors and the Emergency Department doors. I make sure everything is clean and welcoming.”
A man of all trades – his director calls him MacGyver for his inventive ability to make or repair things – Terry joined MSH in 2001.
According to the staff, he is the “go-to guy” with extensive knowledge and skills acquired through previously running several of his own businesses. You name it, he’s done it.
And when COVID-19 hit, Terry was in the thick of it. He was on the ground getting the COVID-19 Assessment Centre up and running.
“We were setting the tents up, and we converted office space into the COVID-19 Assessment Centre. Everything from putting those distancing stickers on the floor to running chain-link fences to keep people separate and safe. When we hosted a couple pop-up vaccination clinics, I’d run supplies back and forth.”
Terry was front and centre supporting our plant maintenance team and contractors, helping to convert several standard patient rooms into negative pressure or isolation rooms — especially important with a contagious infection like COVID-19. Careful to isolate when he went home, Terry spent a lot of time in his trailer to avoid contact with his wife, who works in the local post office.
For Terry, being recognized as an MSH Hero just means he’s been doing his job well. “And it’s not all me. There’s a great team here and we have a lot of support. Everyone’s helping everyone out.”
