Presents of Mind: Hiring Disabled Employees

The word “presents” in the headline is a deliberate homonym and alludes to the wonderful presence of our clinic’s newest employee, Sophia. Sophia experienced a traumatic brain injury at the age of 15, secondary to an MVA. She lost so much on that day but gained something which many of us never achieve. Her smile is endless, her enthusiasm boundless and her approach is to truly live each moment in the moment with an absolute pure happiness that inspires everyone.

Sophia had a lifelong dream to become a CNA. She takes longer than most to learn new information and though it took her seven years, she persevered and achieved her goal. To look at Sophia one would never know she has special challenges.

Unfortunately, Sophia was met by another challenge when attempting to utilize her professional skill set: clinics and hospitals alike just wouldn’t give her a chance. They were generally honest with Sophia and to paraphrase stated they felt she couldn’t perform the work or that she wouldn’t inspire confidence in the patients. Personally, I don’t know what could be more inspiring than to see a young woman who fought back from a traumatic brain injury working in her chosen field!

We at the clinic, (Lansing Urgent Care, in Lansing, Mich.), found it both interesting and offensive that our collective medical community, the community that had worked so hard not only to save Sophia’s life but to help her develop occupationally, was now turning away from Sophia when she was ready to fly.

We hired Sophia as it was clear to see within moments of meeting her that anything she might lack was outweighed by her zest for life and willingness to approach every task not only with determination and the want to succeed, but with a joy that is rare, true and inspirational. The employment we offered her was not a gift; Sophia adds true value to our company and performs real work.

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