Name and how long you have been in the industry
Allison Woolford
I have been in the HTM industry for 15 years.
Short background bio – How did you get into the industry? Anything that drew you in?
My story is pretty interesting. As a child, I wanted to be a pediatrician but I have always had a love for tools and building things with my dad. When I graduated from high school, I went to Xavier University of Louisiana because they are known for sending African American graduates to Medical School. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry but talked myself out of attending Medical School. I was scared to take the MCAT.
Right out of college, I worked at Forever 21 as a Cashier/Sales Associate, and a 9th grade Earth Science teacher for Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System prior to working at the National Testing Laboratory (NTL) for the American Red Cross. At the NTL, I worked in the Infectious Disease Lab testing the donated blood prior to it being sent to the local hospitals in North Carolina.
The NTL had an all women Biomed department. They performed installations/validation for new equipment, PMs and repairs on the devices. As I would speak to them and the various field service engineers, I wanted to be on THAT team. When they had a position open on the team, I applied and that started my HTM career. I was able to go to vendor training for an Abbott Prism Analyzer and train the other ladies on the team.
I then moved over to the collection side of the American Red Cross and worked in that biomed shop; ultimately being their Supervisor. I have had the pleasure of working on the medical equipment that is used on blood drives across the United States, help set up a donor room in Puerto Rico, provide on-site support for major blood drives within North and South Carolina, as well as work on equipment that is used for the manufacturing and storage of blood and blood products.
After 10 years with the American Red Cross, I finally had the opportunity to be in a hospital setting and I absolutely love it. Interacting with the hospital staff and working on OR equipment is a thrill. Yes, there are times when it can be stressful and demanding, but I know that I am helping to save a life and that gets me through the day.
What milestones or contributing factors helped elevate you to where you are today?
There are so many people that have helped push me and mold me into the individual I am today that I can’t list them all. My parents helped to teach and show me that anything is possible as long as you work for it. My manager at the Americas Red Cross NTL, Denise Atlas, pushed me to keep learning and to use my creativity and organizational skills to help streamline PMs. My other manager with the American Red Cross, Tonya Dantlzer, showed me that even though we may be the only women in the room, we still deserve the same respect that everybody else deserves, and we can still fix any piece of equipment handed to us (and still look good doing it J). Ed Littrell and Susan Trombley took me under their wings and showed me the ropes within a hospital setting. Bryant Hawkins, Sr. has been a valuable coach and mentor these last two years. He is the reason why I attended my first MD Expo in Atlanta in 2022. He helped me to further ignite the passion I have for this industry and to keep pushing forward.
What roadblocks did you have to overcome?
Being in a male dominated field, I normally get skeptical looks from people when I walk into a room to repair or troubleshoot a device. Over time, as people began to know me, the skeptical look has change to a relieved look because they know that I am going to fix the problem that they are having.
My old leadership informed me that I had to obtain an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology even though I already had two other degrees (Bachelor of Science in Biology and Science, and Master of Science in Environmental Science) and almost 10 years of experience. However, I didn’t let that deter me. I worked a crazy full time schedule at the hospital for 2 years and I graduated Magna cum Laude. Now, I help that same program by being an adjunct professor and participating on the Biomedical Equipment Technology Advisory Board.
What do you feel makes a great leader in this industry?
What I feel makes a great leader in this industry is someone who has been through the trenches and doesn’t mind going back in if needed. Someone who speaks the truth about what is going wrong and what is going right. A great leader is someone who can accept responsibility when things go wrong and not just blame the people under them. Someone who is easy to talk to and knows that we are all in this together.
What advice to you have for the other women in HTM?
Don’t ever give up or think you can’t do something just because you are a woman. If you have a question, ask it. I truly believe that the only dumb questions out there are the ones that are not asked. You never know who might be thinking the same thing but are too scared to speak up.