My Hometown November 16, 2010
My Hometown, My Hospital - Marybell Rivera
I was born and raised in New Haven. Nineteen years ago, I came to work as a secretary in Yale-New Haven Hospital's emergency department, then in admitting, then in the operating rooms. I was sitting at my desk one day, when one of the plastic surgeons invited me to go to Colombia as an interpreter on a Healing the Children mission. That trip, plus the fact that I had a son who was born with multiple medical problems, made me realize I wanted to be a nurse.
I went to Gateway Community College and Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing. It was hard, going to school, working full-time and raising two children. But my family, my co-workers and the hospital gave me the support I needed.
Everyone said, "Don’t give up. You can do it."
I’ve been a registered nurse for a year now because they believed in me and they made me believe in myself. Yale-New Haven Hospital is like a family here. And New Haven is my home.
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