"I am really excited about finally learning to drive and having my own vehicle. Now, I don't have to depend on others to get around. What an amazing sense of independence!"
When Sherry was ready to re-enter the workforce after decades as a homemaker, she came to the Goodwill Employment Training Center in 2003 at the suggestion of her counselor at the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. She always wanted to be a nurse, but because of her physical disability, she knew she wouldn't be able to fulfill that dream. Instead, Sherry enrolled in the GETC's Medical Office Clerk Diploma Program. She completed her internship in the admissions department at UPMC Presbyterian was then hired as an admissions clerk. Soon promoted to Patient Information Coordinator, her duties now include going from room to room collecting information from patients who were unable to complete their paperwork when they arrived, usually through the emergency room. Sherry normally connects with 40 to 50 patients a day. "I know what it's like on the other side of the bed, so I take time to listen and talk with the patients," she says. At the Goodwill and now at the hospital, Sherry is highly regarded as the epitome of quiet confidence. She does not allow her physical limitations to limit her life, and the power of work has given her the independence of driving her own vehicle so she can enjoy shopping, collecting Beatles memorabilia, and babysitting her five-year-old great-niece, Kayla.
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