Aces of Trades: Adam McGonigle believes healthcare must come from the heart
CHILLICOTHE – He always wanted to help. His focus just changed.
“Growing up, I dreamed of being a veterinarian,” recalled Adam McGonigle. “I excelled in science and mathematics and loved animals. But as with many, your best laid plans change over time. I wanted to do something with my life that would positively impact others.”
Today, McGonigle is director of laboratory services for the Adena Health System.
“I think I’ve always known I had an interest in caring for people,” he said.
“Healthcare is challenging and can be stressful,” he added. “Within the laboratory we perform millions of tests, and the expectation is for them all to be correct – not most of the time, but 100 percent of the time.”
“If you’re not doing it from the heart,” he noted, “it may not be the right field for you. Not only should you care about the patients, but also each other.”
McGonigle grew up in central Ohio, graduated from Teays Valley HS in 2002, then Shawnee State University in 2006 with a dual major in medical laboratory science and health management. He’s earned a number of certifications, including medical laboratory technician through the American Society of Clinical Pathology. And he has an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
“During my childhood,” he said, “my parents were both great role models, giving me key attributes for success. My mother is very caring – a natural-born educator. She taught me many things including the importance of the ‘golden rule.’ My father is dedicated and hard-working. I learned a lot about leadership from him as he was in leadership roles throughout my life.”
Through the years, McGonigle’s medical duties expanded. Then in 2017, he accepted a position with Adena as a laboratory manager. At the end of 2019, he became the director of laboratory services.
“As all healthcare caregivers have navigated the pandemic,” he noted, “I think we’ve all probably asked ourselves: Why do you do it? I do this because of the same reason I started in the field. I wanted to do something with my life that positively impacted others and could make a change for the better.”
According to Jessica Matheny, he has.
“Adam is a hard-working and dedicated leader,” assessed Matheny, associate vice president of Adena Medical Group. “He’s an advocate for the staff he leads and will always speak up for what’s right. He worked tirelessly to help lead our response to the pandemic by developing ever-changing system processes and policies. Because of his efforts we had patients from all over the state and surrounding states come to Adena Health for covid testing and treatment.”
“I think,” McGonigle responded, “everyone questions certain things we have or have not done through life. I like to think the path my life has taken thus far allows me to find purpose in some of my personality traits and hopefully leave each day a little better than it was.”
Adena Regional Medical Center is located at 272 Hospital Road in Chillicothe. For more information, call 740-779-7500 or log on www.adena.org.
About the series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at gaznews@nncogannett.com or 740-349-1110.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Adam McGonigle believes healthcare must come from the heart
