SHELTON, WA – It is not uncommon to see Amanda Wells, CNA, moving from one department to another, asking if anyone needs assistance. She happily performs acts of service, such as taking out the trash at a nurses’ station or braiding a patient’s hair, without expectation of anything in return, according to many of her coworkers. Her cheery disposition and happy spirit, as well as her willingness to do whatever it takes to make sure her patients are comfortable, happy, and healthy, is why Mason Health employees nominated and selected Wells as the November 2022 Employee of the Month.

Wells grew up in Shelton and was home-schooled her entire life through Accelerated Christian Education, graduating in 2004. She always knew she wanted to either be a housewife or go into nursing because she cares deeply about taking care of others. She married after graduating high school, but her husband died in 2009 from swine flu. Wells went on to take care of her husband’s family, particularly her mother-in-law.

“I like to take care of people,” Wells said. “I like to see if I can help them feel better or if I can fix whatever is going on. But I didn’t think I could do nursing because I didn’t think colleges would accept a home-schooled student.”

Wells’ sister, Malla Hayek, was hired in the Mason Health Culinary & Nutrition Services department, and Wells later joined the department in June 2015, first as a dishwasher and then working her way up to the hospital floor, stocking food upstairs and delivering meals to patients. She got to know patients and medical staff, and a nurse at Mason General Hospital helped Wells understand that anyone can go into nursing.

“There was a patient in the hospital at the time, whom I felt so bad for because she did not have any family,” Wells recalled. “I visited with her regularly. A nurse told me I should look into becoming a nurse’s aide because of how well I interacted with the patient. After 10 months of training and passing all my tests, I became a certified nursing assistant.”

Wells took her courses at Grays Harbor Community College. In 2017, she worked as a CNA at Shelton Health & Rehabilitation Center at the same time as working at Mason General Hospital, in the Medical-Surgical-Pediatrics unit. In 2018, she left Shelton Health & Rehab to focus on her work at Mason Health and the pursuit of a registered nursing degree.

“The only thing that surprised me about this line of work was that I had no idea that CNAs made so many beds,” Wells said. “That startled me, but the rest of it is no problem. I love doing this. It’s a lot of work, but it’s neat because I like to do it and I’m pretty good at it. I would recommend this career. It’s been good for me. My favorite spot to work is the Intensive Care Unit because I feel like I have more time with the patients there.”

Wells loves to sew and play piano. She lives with her mom and her two cats.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County, is ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Environmental Excellence Awards. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit www.masongeneral.com. To learn more about DNV, visit www.dnv.com/healthcare.