Lynn Hasse, Surgical Services Health Unit Coordinator
Martin Hasse, Retired Maintenance Engineer

Lynn Hasse: "My aunt worked as a cashier in the Food & Nutrition department at St. Luke's Hospital. They needed a tray passer, so she asked if I wanted to work there. I was a junior in high school when I started in 1979. I worked at night from 4:00 to 8:00, and then I'd go home and do my schoolwork.

Martin had been working at St. Luke's since 1976, a few years before I started. We were both invited to a co-worker's wedding reception. He didn't have a ride, so I asked if he wanted me to pick him up. At first, I was a little apprehensive. He drove a motorcycle—my mother told me to stay away from guys on motorcycles. He was actually very nice, very compassionate.

Five months later, we were engaged. We got married three years later after saving to pay for our wedding."

Martin Hasse: "My first job was delivering papers to the boiler operators at Saginaw General Hospital. I lived in the neighborhood. We both did—me on Webster near North School and Lynn on Stark near Stone School.

I had been working a food job at the mall when I decided to apply for a job in the cafeteria at St. Luke's. I almost didn't get the job. Back then, we had these huge food carts at the hospital. Of course, all the food was homemade at the time, and it was hand-delivered to the patients. My director, Ms. Mills, initially didn't think I could handle those big carts—I wasn’t a very big guy. I proved her wrong…"

Lynn Hasse: "Back then, there were around 12 couples that worked at St. Luke's. It was fun, like a close family. In the 80s, our CEO, Lou Zeile, and his wife would come in on Sundays and go into the cafeteria to eat lunch then go up to the floors and visit with staff. The whole neighborhood would come in on Sundays because the food was that good.

We had a little German cook named Lily. Ms. Mills used to get upset with her because she wouldn't stick to the recipes—she would throw in her own ingredients. Lily would say 'We want it to taste good, don’t we?' I'll never forget her as long as I live."

Pictured: Photo Collage of Lynn Hasse and Martin Hasse

Lynn Hasse:"There was a policy at St. Luke's when you married that if you worked in the same department, one of you had to transfer to another area. Martin chose to go to Materials Management, then Security, and after that Engineering, working third shift as a maintenance engineer.

I ended up getting a coordinator position in Food & Nutrition Services and having fun doing theme days in the cafeteria. I knew I always wanted to work with patients though and decided it was time to venture out.

St. Luke's had on-the-job training for unit support associates or USAs, which is basically a certified nursing assistant now. I had two weeks of training, then I worked on the patient floors on the resource team for five years. From there, I worked in the Endo department, had the opportunity to help open Bay City Pain Management, and now I work in Surgical Services as an aide, secretary and transporter.

I'm known for my headbands, especially during the holidays. I hit the dollar store for headbands to make patients happy. I just want to take their minds off things for that day.

When I visit the kids in pre-op, I would give them a headband and take their picture. I wanted them to know they didn’t need to worry—we’re here for them. Later, I would send them the picture in a thank-you card. I called them my Covenant 'cool kids.'

I have kids who come to me and tell me that they still have the cards with the pictures. My first 'cool kid' actually framed our picture and gifted it to me… what a feeling of worth."

Pictured: Lynn Hasse and Martin Hasse

"We have so many great work memories.

I recently came across an old team photo of Marty and our coworkers from the 1981 St. Luke’s coed softball team. Ray from Materials Management, Maureen from X-Ray, Cindy, one of our dietitians, Tracy from ER, Jim and Chris from Pharmacy, Sara from Respiratory, and so many others played. We did a lot of fun things like this.

So, when the merger came along, I'm not going to lie, I was skeptical. We had this big, happy family. I didn’t know if it was going to work or not.

Now, I'm proud we were part of it. It's a bigger organization now, but we are striving and working it. Covenant HealthCare is still a very compassionate place, and there are a lot of people here who really care.

When I drop patients off to a floor, a lot of them will say, 'I would definitely come to Covenant over another hospital because of the way I was treated here.' That's what makes you want to go back to work every day."

Pictured: St. Luke's Co-ed Softball Team

Martin Hasse: "I just retired from my position as a Maintenance Engineer at Covenant on July 26, 2023—47 years to the date.

People don’t realize how complicated a hospital facility is behind the scenes—so many pipes, lines, wires, and systems within the walls. There were some nights in Engineering when you didn’t know what you were walking into.

There was an old heating system we had down in the North Tower. It looked like an octopus with three pumps and piping going all over. My job one night when I got into work was to figure out how to isolate one pump to put another online, figuring out all the valves I had to shut to make it happen.

The pneumonic tube system used to transport materials from the labs and pharmacies throughout the facility was also a real challenge. It goes everywhere in the hospital, and if anything malfunctioned, you had to fix it fast. Needless to say, we learned a lot on the job!

What Lynn and I both have loved most throughout our 92 combined years of service at St. Luke’s and Covenant HealthCare are interactions with so many different people—patients, visitors and coworkers alike.

We have built a camaraderie with so many of our colleagues from various departments; this bond is vital to achieving good work and communication among the organization. It is the epitome of extraordinary care at Covenant. "

—Lynn Hasse, Covenant HealthCare Surgical Services Health Unit Coordinator
(Former Unit Aide, St. Luke’s Hospital)

—Martin Hasse, Retired Covenant HealthCare Maintenance Engineer
(Former Security Officer, St. Luke’s Hospital)

Pictured: (L-R) Beth Charlton, Martin Hasse, and Lynn Hasse