From Toledo Hospital Daycare to 40 Years of Service

If there’s a vehicle with a ProMedica logo on it, Lauren Wuellner knows about it. As the fleet support coordinator for ProMedica Air and Mobile, she oversees all the vehicles within organization – maintenance vans, courier vehicles, passenger vans and more.

“When I first took this position, we probably had about 120 vehicles; now, we’re up to 230 vehicles,” she says.

Lauren handles fuel, maintenance, licensing, purchasing and decommissioning of vehicles. She’s been in her current position for about 15 years, but she’s been with ProMedica Toledo Hospital for more than 40.

“Every time I pull up to the campus of Toledo Hospital and come off the expressway down ProMedica Parkway, I just look at it and think, wow,” says Lauren. “Just looking at the breadth of where it came from. It’s very emotional for me because I was in the old-school brick-and-mortar Toledo Hospital. That’s where I started on that campus.”

Starting Her ProMedica Career in Food Service

Lauren’s roots with Toledo Hospital began when she was little. As a child, she was at the Toledo Hospital day care, then became a candy striper, volunteering on the pediatric floor playroom at 15 years old. She began her career at the hospital in food services.

“At one point at the hospital, we had an area called the Terhune Pavilion. These patients paid an extra fee to get a more upscale menu and other services. At that time I worked in the kitchen and it was really the start of my culinary experience,” says Lauren. “I got to work with more high-end foods and focus on plating. We had linen napkins, and we had flowers in vases that went on each person’s tray. It was more of a fine dining type of experience.”

Years later, Lauren changed her career path, leaving food service to work in hospital programs such as Ask a Nurse, a phone service that provided community resources for those who called in.

“I loved that program because it really connected me with the community, which is something I had not experienced,” Lauren shares.

Looking Forward with ProMedica Air and Mobile

Eventually, Lauren found her way to Air and Mobile. She recalls the past fondly, but her eyes are also on the future. Looking ahead, she wants to maintain a “fleet view” that considers all the vehicles across the board, rather than individually.

“I look forward to us really embracing the idea of and moving forward as one fleet, because the key to a successful fleet is to look at it as one,” she explains.

From the Veggie Mobile delivering fresh produce in Lenawee County, Mich., to the home medical pharmacy delivering prescription medications, to courier vehicles making deliveries across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan – they are all part of one ProMedica fleet.

Of course, there are advancements in technology that Lauren also finds exciting, from hybrid vehicles (ProMedica has three) to self-driving vehicles.

“The industry just keeps growing. The changes in safety, I think, are the biggest ‘wow factor’ for me, from where we started to where we are now,” Lauren says. “The back-up cameras they have within even fleet cars, the screens are so big that I think it certainly plays a part in saving lives and cutting down accidents.”

Reflecting on the Hospital’s Change

At nearly 60 years old, Lauren reflects on her career journey – the various positions she’s held and the skills she has developed.

“It’s been quite a winding path. For my tenure of 43 years, I feel like I haven’t moved a lot but I’ve done a lot within different departments,” she says. “When I find a place that I’d love, I have the tendency to really stay in it and just expand it as best as I can.”

The hospital has changed a lot since Lauren’s young days, sharing lunch with her mom at the hospital snack shop. And with that change comes a sense of pride in herself and her colleagues.

“I just look at the hospital and I’m mesmerized with how much has changed,” Lauren says. “There’s something to be said for everyone who keeps building it to the success it is.”