'Marvelous light' retires after 49 years of service at MUSC

August 30, 2021
MUSC Guest Services Glennie Davis
MUSC Health's Volunteer & Guest Service's Glennie Davis retired on July 30. She poses at the Walton Research Building, former site of MUSC Ambulatory Care Services. Photo by Sarah Pack

Patient, family member, employee, care team member or visitor - anybody entering MUSC Health’s Rutledge Tower would almost always pass by the desk of Glennie Davis.

Davis, who retired on July 30, after working a remarkable 49 years with MUSC Health Guest Services, is considered an MUSC hospital legend with her caring attitude, empathetic manner, resourcefulness and sparkling personality. Whether providing directions to a patient’s appointment, welcoming visitors, arranging patient transportation between buildings or recommending dining suggestions, Davis was always happy to help. Her love for MUSC, her friendliness and genuine desire to help others made for the perfect match - not only for her but also the thousands of people she encountered in her nearly half century at MUSC. Davis’ presence made everyone feel better.

“I have truly loved my job because I helped people. I’m a people person - I liked to make sure our patients and visitors can safely get to their destinations every day. Many come through our doors frustrated, worried or scared. When I saw a person come through the doors with a frown on their face or look confused, I was that person who was there to help them,” said Davis.

Audrey Wilder, R.N., works in MUSC Health's Ambulatory Surgery-Perioperative Services in Rutledge Tower and knows Davis as a colleague and friend.

“Glennie personifies Dr. Cole’s Values in Action - compassion, innovation, integrity, collaboration, and respect - and impact. From the time I met Glennie, her personality makes you feel welcome to MUSC. She’s always concerned about meeting the patient’s needs and is 110% committed to making sure the patient gets to his/her appointment or destination. When you have someone like that who dedicates themselves in the role of patient advocate, it speaks volumes,” she said.

Davis’ career at MUSC began in 1972. A newlywed, she had just completed classes at Palmer Business College in downtown Charleston, when she applied for a job with MUSC. “I was so excited to get that job,” Davis remembered.

Growing up in the Red Top community in West Ashley, Davis remembers nothing but good experiences with MUSC. For years, she escorted her father to Family Medicine appointments and eye checkups with MUSC Storm Eye Institute’s Joseph M. Lally, M.D., to manage her dad’s early glaucoma care. “I would give the world for MUSC because they gave me and my family the best medical care,” Davis said.

Glennie Davis works Rutledge Tower desk

Davis at her desk at Rutledge Tower.

Davis worked in Information Services under Virginia C. Bickley, then director and administrator for MUSC Ambulatory Care. At the time, MUSC’s clinics - ambulatory, cancer care, dermatology, pediatrics, pharmacy, radiology and laboratories - were housed in one facility on Ashley Avenue. In the mid–1970s, when the Ambulatory Clinics relocated to the Clinical Sciences Building, McClennan Banks and 30 Bee Street, Davis remained in the original location, working for other departments, including dermatology and endocrinology. In 1998, she relocated to the new Rutledge Tower Ambulatory Care Facility, working for years in the second–floor connector area above Ashley Avenue helping patients and families to find their way in a growing medical center campus.

“Through the years, I’ve learned a lot about people and their needs and attitudes. Meeting so many of them, I know there are truly good people in the world. If a person came to me angry or upset, I knew what to do. By the time they left my desk or area, everything was just smooth and all was right,” she said with a smile.

When it comes to people, Davis has always followed the Golden Rule — “Treat others as you would like others to treat you.”

And it wasn’t just the patients and families who valued her work. Physicians, nurses and support team members greatly appreciated Davis, too. One day, Wilder observed a physician talking to Davis. He told her how much he missed seeing her and that he was genuinely happy to see her back at Rutledge Tower. “This place is not the same when you’re not here,” he said. “I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being here.

Just weeks before she was to retire, an employee who works with MUSC Valet Services learned that Davis was leaving; he came by and dropped off a bouquet of flowers, thanking her for her help and assistance. “Receiving flowers from him really made my day. It’s a reminder that you never know how much people really think of you,” she said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis was right there with other clinical care staff - at her desk. Rutledge Tower was open, albeit to limited in–person patient visits. As part of Guest Services, she was there to help those patients in whatever they needed.

Perhaps Wilder said it best about her friend.

“Glennie’s a marvelous beacon - a light placed in Rutledge Tower for patients to see their way through. Her presence here makes a difference,” she said.

Asked what she would miss most about MUSC after 49 years?

“I’ll miss helping my patients who really need help. There are people who are shy, afraid to ask for help, don’t speak English as their first language or don’t understand the automated systems that are in place to help in their patient experience. Many times patients were just sent down to my desk so that I could help them. I didn’t mind it - it’s what I do. There are people who need the time and attention, and I was there to help them with their needs,” she said.

Transitioning to retirement shouldn’t be difficult for this spry 70-year old. She hopes to continue her volunteering efforts at her church - St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church - as well as at the new International African American Museum (slated to open in 2022) and hopefully back at MUSC Health for a few days a week. She’s excited about her plans to travel and spend time with her family - son, Carlton, and his wife, Trina; daughter, Lashawnda, and her husband, Paul; and grandchildren, Bryce, Ryan, Christopher and Aiden.

“I can’t keep still,” she said. “I have to keep up this regimen of fun and activities going.”