By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer  

Carol Miller says food service was her destiny.

“I always said I was destined to work here (Bridgton Hospital). At the time I was born, Stephens Memorial was under renovation. My brothers and sister were born at Stephens. I was the only one born here (Bridgton Hospital), on Main Hill. Yes, I tell people the hospital was on Main Hill before it moved to its current location,” Carol recalled. “I’ve gone through 10 administrators over the years. First one was Louise Hooper. She was a retired Army nurse. Boy did she run a tight ship. If the females wore their dress uniforms too short, she made sure she called them on it.”

48 years.

Plenty of changes. Plenty of new faces. But, the same great memories — wonderful people to work with and amazing patients to work for.

Last week, Carol Miller hung up the apron and put down her pen as Food Service Director for Bridgton and Rumford Hospitals. As expected, it was a time to reflect, a time to celebrate and a time to feel a bit sad, knowing a job she absolutely lovedat a place that became a second home was over.

BH President Peter Wright was one very sorry to see Carol move on to retirement.

“Carol’s retirement is both emotional heartbreak and yet a story of great success and joy. She has a wonderful presence and a joyous personality. She was so much fun to work with and be around. Always smiling. Always positive. Always finding a way to get things done. Her commitment to Bridgton and Rumford Hospitals for 40-plus years is just awesome! You don’t see that today. People are far more transient in their employment. The days of ‘I went to work for this company and worked for this company for my entire career’ are seemingly gone,” Wright said. “I am so happy for her. She has brought so much joy and happiness to our community and to our patients. We often say around here that food is health care for the soul. Carol absolutely embodied that spirit and made sure that the food the patients and their families ate here wasn’t just good nutrition but it was good food. We celebrate around food. We mourn around food. It is an integral part of our society. For her to be the leader for four-plus decades is just incredible and will be a great loss. I’ve told her repeatedly I hope she comes back to visit frequently because she is already missed.”

Wright added that there have been some incredible accomplishments and so many challenges Carol has faced over time, but she always faced them by giving it her best and with a smile.

“The whole concept of what we think of as nutrition has changed so much in her tenure,” he said. “Her ability to embrace it and make sure those critical changes are instantly integrated to keep our patients well is awesome.”

Carol was the longest tenured worker at BH, reaching her 48th year of service — 45 under the hospital umbrella and the last three years under Sodexo, which the hospital contracts with for food service.

Now, the baton has been passed to Jim Chadbourne. “He is the next one in line,” Carol noted. “He would have been there longer than me, but he went to CMP for like 11 months. He’s be there 47 years.”

A native of Waterford, Carol’s first job was working at the original Dairy Queen in Bridgton. 

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she said. “A friend of mine told me there was a full-time position at the hospital in the food service department. At the time, Evelyn McKeen was the food service director. Evelyn hired me. 40 hours a week. $1.95 per hour. But, it was a great job. Full benefits.” 

Five years later, Carol went back to school and earned her associate’s degree. “And the rest is sort of history,” she said. “I never thought about doing anything else because of my love of food and taking care of patients. You’re taking care of patients, but not with the hands-on like nursing staff, yet you are a big part of their overall care. I love people. I love seeing them get well. I love a healthy appetite.”

Bridgton Hospital is also where she received a marriage proposal.

“I was coming off duty. Wayne was working at Howell Labs. He met me on a certain date that was special to both of us. He asked me in the back-parking lot, ‘Do you want to get married?’ Lo and behold 46 years later, here we are,” Carol said. “It was a bit of a surprise when he asked me. Total surprise. We met at a Youth Group meeting at the Congregational Church with (Rev.) John Swanson. He has always been very special to both of us.”

Thatspecial datewas Feb. 13, the day they met at Youth Group. 

The couple built “a great life” by having two daughters, Jennifer and Courtney, as well as developing close friendships — including Dick and Barbara Mayo, who invited them on a vacation trip and ultimately unlocked a love for travel.

“We were robbed of our Aruba trip in 2020,” Carol noted. “It’s our most favorite place. It is the more relaxing. The people are just wonderful. We love to get into ‘the feel’ of the island — the culture, the people. We have to thank Dick and Barbara Mayo for taking us. They introduced us to Aruba back in 2005. When I first heard the word Aruba, all I could think of was the Beach Boys’ song. We said we’d go for a week. It pulls on your heartstrings. We can’t wait to go back.”

Actually, Wayne is an “Army brat” and has family in England. “So, that’s where it really started, when we went to visit the family in England. In fact, he still has two cousins there that we visited,” Carol said.

Family connections also took them to Bosnia.

“Our son-in-law is originally from Bosnia. Our daughter Jennifer lives in Hookset, N.H. His parents came to N.H. after the war in 1993. They were supported by a Catholic organization that brought them here. None could speak English. They still have family in Bosnia, so after they married, we went to Bosnia as part of the honeymoon. It was a trip of a lifetime. I met so many wonderful people there. Jen’s father-in-law said that once you meet the people, they will always remember you and welcome you back. I truly felt that way. I wondered, how could these people who have been through a war be so kind hearted? We’d like to go back, with our son-in-law’s parents once they retire, spend about a month,” Carol said. “The scenery, even though see the evidence of the war, the country is beautiful. In Sarajevo, we saw red dots along the sidewalks and our son-in-law told us they call them ‘roses,’ and it represents a person who was killed in that spot. Even though we didn’t speak the language, they were very welcoming. We did a lot of charades and sign language.”

Travel is certainly part of the retirement equation. So, how did Carol decide 2021 was the year to step away?

“During the pandemic, we had our first grandchild; I just felt robbed not being able to spend time with him. Wayne’s health, he had major surgery last September. I need to be home with family, and be able to spend time with my daughters and grandson. Money isn’t everything,” she said. “I was comfortable with the decision. I felt a huge weight taken off my shoulders when I turned in my resignation. As it got closer, I said, ‘Oh my God, what have I done? Am I making the right decision?’ Maybe I could work a couple of days a week? I’m still toying around with the idea. I’m still capable, but do something totally different. We’ll see.”

Saying Good-Bye

Carol knew saying good-bye would be very difficult.

“It’s just four walls, but it’s the people that make it special. I believe we are all in health care for a reason. We are put there for a reason. You care about people. You have a vested interest in helping people get better. The ones that don’t make it, maybe it wasn’t their calling,” she said. “If you really invest in the job and people, there is a closeness you develop. You cry with them, you laugh with them. That’s the part I am going miss the most — the closeness.”

Carol found just how close she was too many, receiving well wishes, special gifts, books with kind and tearful messages, along with laughs and smiles while reflecting on accomplishments and memories created.

She credited great staff in Bridgton and Rumford, whose support was certainly needed to make the dual managerial arrangement — two days in Rumford, three days in Bridgton work.

Her work was recognized by Premier Food Service in 2014, naming Carol one of the top 10 food service directors across the country for patient satisfaction, food quality while cutting food and labor costs.

There have been plenty of changes — days of going to the local store with a shopping list to a computerized ordering system dominated by various codes — as well as challenges — primarily to produce nutritious meals at an efficient price, yet also comforting to patients.

“When I hear someone say they didn’t like the food, I didn’t get mad, I’d ask, ‘What could I have done differently?’ I always tried to make people happy and meet their needs. I think when we introduced more ‘action line cooking,’ what we are currently doing — they actually see their food being prepared in front of them — it has been a huge hit. They see you putting together a chicken fajita or pasta with a nice meat sauce with some sautéed onion and garlic whereas before all they saw was food inside a steam container. Even if it tasted good, you didn’t get the same aroma and individualized treatment,” she said. “Did I take comments personally? I tried not to. Usually, I hoped I made everyone feel comfortable enough to talk to me. Okay, I can take the good along with the bad. Just go from there. Everyone is an expert when it comes to cooking. 

The recipe for her success and longevity was three simple ingredients — her personality, a positive outlook and always smiling.

“I’d tell my staff, if you can’t find some joy in coming to work then maybe this isn’t for you and maybe you need to look for something else. I know there is going to be some down days, but I look forward to the good times, something to laugh about, in the appropriate place,” she said.

Carol liked how her final days unfolded — not too overboard. “I wanted them not to just celebrate me, but to celebrate them too because we were a team,” she said. “My staff made me look good — I have to give them credit.”

48 years in one place, a rarity.

“I loved being on the front end. I did not enjoy being stuck at my desk and doing all the reports and paperwork. I wanted to be out front, and see the people. I would always make it a point to be out there at lunch time, and then going around and seeing the patients,” she said.

And, always with a smile.