A former janitor returns to the hospital they cleaned to protect public health in a new way.

Shay Taylor-Allen started her custodial career at Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, fresh out of high school. For a decade, she maintained equipment, cleaned offices, and worked alongside healthcare professionals to provide a safe and healthy environment for all patients—including her mother.

When Taylor-Allen's mother became ill, she leveraged her working relationships. When the current care staff were unable to determine what was wrong, Taylor-Allen reached out to Yale’s former CEO, a leader whose office she had consistently cleaned over the years.  The CEO was able to connect Taylor-Allen and her mother to a new care team, who diagnosed and provided effective treatment. This experience was a catalyst, pushing Taylor-Allen to pursue a new position in the healthcare field.

Enrolling in medical school, Taylor-Allen applied her hardworking ethic and dedication she showed in her janitor job to her education. Now, in a full circle moment, Taylor-Allen will return to work at Yale as a resident.

In an interview, Taylor-Allen shared how grateful she is to return to the site where it all began.

“A lot of health care workers forget how important their jobs are, “ Taylor-Allen says in a WUSA9 article, adding, “I hope I can show that.”