Longtime hospital gift shop manager retires after 14 years

Chances are if you stopped in the WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital gift shop to purchase a few items, there's a good possibility that manager Beth Bryant was behind the counter or taking inventory of the shelves. 

Bryant, 77, has served as the manager for the past 14 years and retired from her position on May 28.

"The experience here has been very rewarding," Bryant said. "I'm going to miss the people, not just the gift shop workers but especially the people who work in plant operations. If anything goes wrong they are there to help, always with a smile. The climate as a whole around this hospital is so supportive, the administration, everyone is so appreciative of the effort put in."

Bryant, who received her doctorate from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, first came to the area after retiring from Northern Virginia Community College where she taught speech communications. 

"I left NOVA after 15 years of teaching in 2006," Bryant said. "I didn't want to retire in Northern Virginia and I wanted a place to where I could go back and forth on the weekends, and landed in Waynesboro." 

In the summer of 2007, Bryant was looking for a "project" and since her father was an orthopedic surgeon, she looked toward the hospital as a place where she could volunteer her time and expertise.

"The funny thing is that when I put in my application, it said where would you like to work and I put anywhere but the gift shop," Bryant recalled. "The previous manager was ready to leave, and they asked me to help with the transition, and within a few months I was tapped to be the new manager.

"As a newcomer to the community it allowed me to meet some fantastic people, and when you retire from one profession and go in a different direction, it's always  a bit of a learning curve, but I found it both challenging and rewarding," she said of her time at the gift shop. 

More:Central Pa. heart patients get help in fight against the country's leading cause of death

Over the years, Bryant was tasked with keeping the shop stocked with new and unusual items, which she did by attending the Philadelphia Gift Show twice a year. 

About six years into the managerial role, she led an effort to expand the gift shop into what it is today. "It allows us to properly display our merchandise, and it has been well received," Bryant said. "A lot of our customers are from the community. We have people come in just to shop. They come in because they feel our gift shop has things they can't find elsewhere; we hear that time and time again."

Items featured include a children's gift corner, handbags, scarves, jewelry, garden flags, fresh flowers, seasonal gifts, John Deere items as well as metal wine caddies, wooden box puzzles and greeting cards.

“We know that it’s our team members that make the difference at WellSpan Health, from frontline nurses and caregivers to every single person that patients and visitors interact with when they enter our facilities,” said Melissa Dubrow, president of WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital and vice president, WellSpan Health.

“Beth’s efforts in the gift shop significantly contributed to donations from the Waynesboro Hospital Auxiliary toward the purchase of equipment for our patients. For that, we are forever grateful.”

Because of the pandemic, the WellSpan Hospital gift shop is currently not open to the public but only to employees and anyone who Is in the hospital. "We look forward soon to be open to the public," Bryant said. 

In what she jokes as her "second retirement," Bryant has plans to move to eastern Pennsylvania to be closer to family. "What I learned from COVID is that it's important to be close to family and near to them."

In addition to serving as the manager, she is an Auxiliary Volunteer and also very active in the community as a member of the Blue Ridge Summit Garden Club and College Club. 

Looking toward the future, Bryant hopes to keep busy with book clubs, swimming and bike riding. "Who, knows, maybe I'll take up golf again," she said.