A NEW AGE OF EMPLOYMENT – Miller always ready for the next challenge

Sitting in a large leather recliner at her farm house, surrounded by framed photos of her family, Marilyn Miller, thinks back to how many years she’s worked at Allen County Regional Hospital.
“I’ve been there about 20-plus years,” she recalls. “I simply love what I do and the people I work with.”
Miller, 80, works at the front desk of the hospital and has many tasks. She helps admit patients into the hospital, answer the switchboard, page doctors who are on call, take charts and billing and the list goes on.
“We strive hard to get the right information when a patient comes in,” she said.
Miller said she’s looking forward to moving to the new hospital.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I feel very fortunate at my age to take on this new challenge.”
She said one thing that excites her is the new office near the emergency room. There will be an office at the front entrance and at the emergency doors.
“It’s helpful that you know there is a patient there,” she explains. “It will make it easier and more effective.”
She works three days a week and when she started out it was Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays so she could “get it out of the way.” Miller said the hospital is short-staffed, so she volunteered to help the situation by switching her schedule to nights on the weekends and first of the week.

Miller is no stranger to work. She and her husband, Jim, ran a farm for many years. Jim passed away three years ago. Miller grew up in Greenwood County where her father owned a dairy farm. Miller said she didn’t immediately take to farming.
“During World War II, my uncle needed help with hay and I knew nothing about farming,” she said. “I ended up running the combine. People were surprised I drove that instead of a truck.”
She said the joke was on them because the combine had power steering and air conditioning.
Miller said she and her husband had known each other all of their lives. The couple married in October 1953 at which point Jim entered the military.
“He was in the Eighth Army Division and was stationed at the University of Seoul in Korea,” she said.
When Jim returned from Korea he began to farm. His family owned a farm on Maryland Road and they moved down the road. They moved around quite a bit for different reasons, she said, but didn’t go far.
“We’ve lived within the same mile for 60 years,” she said.
In 1976, Miller entered the work force. Through the years she’s held many jobs. She’s worked at the I’Dea Shop, prepared income tax returns, worked at Farmer’s Service Agency and Farmer’s Home.
Her stint at the hospital came from a suggestion of a friend, she said. “It was part-time and I filled in when people were gone. They asked me to stay, and I’ve been there ever since.”

Although Miller loves what she does she also enjoys quality time with her two daughters. Nancy lives in Kansas City and Cheryl in Emporia. They both teach. She travels to Kansas City quite often to go to dinner theaters with her daughter. Every year they enjoy spring break together. They like going to Cancun, Mexico.
“Family is the number one thing no matter how much you love your job,” she said.
When she’s not working she also likes to knit or read a book.
Miller said she always wanted her daughters to go to college because she didn’t think she could have that opportunity.
“I thought that I couldn’t afford it or my parents couldn’t afford it,” she said. “My kids pushed me to go to school.”
Miller took classes at Allen and received her associates degree. She said she loves to learn.
“The kids got me an iPad and I like it very much,” she aid “This technology is marvelous and I learn something new.”
When asked when she thought she would retire she chuckled and said “ when I’m 100.”
“My job gives me something to do,” she said. “All the people you work with become a second family. It’s nice to do something for them and they would do anything for you.”