In honor of Black History Month, we share the story of Melvina “Mel” Stapp, a woman who entered the workforce as a line worker at a meat processing plant and today is a medical laboratory scientist, information systems analyst and respected 29-year member of the Blessing Health team.
After graduating high school, Mel Stapp worked in a meat processing plant, doing everything from deboning chicken to product inspections. The plant closed four years later.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Mel said. “I had a daughter to take care of and a minimum wage factory job would not get the bills paid. I decided to go back to school and get a degree that made money as well help people.”
With several aunts who were nurses and a couple of cousins who were phlebotomists, Mel looked to healthcare to provide a brighter future for her daughter. She applied and was accepted to the Blessing Hospital School of Medical Laboratory Technology. During school, she worked as a phlebotomist at Blessing Hospital, a person who draws blood from patients for testing.
Upon graduation, Mel advanced to the role of Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) at Blessing, the person who performs lab tests and procedures. Not stopping there, she continued her education and became a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS), qualified to perform more complex tests and procedures and became Lead of the Blood Bank in the Blessing Hospital Laboratory for five years.
Today, Mel has two jobs at Blessing. She earned a Bachelor of Information Technology degree and is a full-time System Application Analyst II in the Blessing Information Systems department, responsible for maintaining the laboratory computer system, and is a member of the team that plans and implements new laboratory instrumentation.
“It has always been my goal to work on the computer side of healthcare. It exciting to bring in new innovations.”
And, at least two evenings a week, you’ll find Mel back in a lab coat and on the other side of the lab computer system and instrumentation, performing complex tests and procedures as an MLS where she got her start, Blessing Hospital.
“You can take the girl away from the lab, but you will never take the science out of the girl. This will always be my first passion,” she said. “And Blessing provides some the best care in the Tri-State area. I want to be a part of that.”
Today, the daughter who motivated Mel to go back to school 30 years ago when she lost her factory job has two boys of her own, is a graduate of Culver-Stockton College and pursuing a career in healthcare.
She could not have a better role model.