During the worst of the pandemic, there was one warm, constant presence greeting patients, family members and staff at the front doors of MLKCH: information officer Bruce Snead, ready with a mask and his own masked smile. Though sidelined from his regular duties as an Echo Tech, he recovered from back surgery, the temporary role became “an opportunity to meet and speak to everyone,” Bruce says.
As an echo tech, Bruce is used to dealing with matters of the heart—performing “heart ultrasounds” or echocardiograms that help doctors diagnose cardiovascular disorders. At nineteen, his own heart became a source of concern. Sometimes, without warning, it would begin racing—190, 200 beats per minute, or more than three times the pace of a normal resting heartbeat. During hospital visits, he withstood batteries of tests to get to the cause of the arrhythmia. “I wanted to learn more about what was going on with myself,” says Bruce. “I wanted to learn more about the heart.”
Growing up in Carson, he remembers a particular moment that solidified his desire to work in healthcare. When he was in high school, a family gathering at a cousin’s house turned into a medical emergency for his grandmother. As Bruce watched paramedics rush her to the nearest hospital, he was moved by the speed with which medical professionals treated her. “I was thinking maybe one day I can do something like that for others.”
Taking advantage of employee educational opportunities during his first job at Robert F. Kennedy Hospital, Bruce trained in echocardiography, and eventually landed a job at MLKCH. He’s been at the health system for more than nine years now, since before the hospital began seeing patients.
For the last two years, Bruce has been part of the MLKCH Gives leadership team—his way of giving back. Recalling how staff education programs gave him his start as an echo tech, Bruce wants to make sure that MLKCH Gives-funded programs, such as those that help staff pursue their high school diploma, remain strong. For Bruce, gratitude is easily a matter of the heart.
Whether as an echo tech or holding down the entrance of the hospital during a frightening time with his easy warmth and ready smile, Bruce has gratitude for all the blessings of his life. “My dad always said if we have the opportunity to help someone else, we should. Don’t always look for something to come back to you. If you can give—that is your blessing.”
Here is your opportunity to give back! Join Bruce in being a part of MLKCH Gives.