Staff Profile
Joseph: Pediatric Resource Specialist
What brought you to Dana-Farber?
I have bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering, and briefly worked in the field, but it just wasn't a fit — it wasn't rewarding for me. When I went to my five-year high school reunion and saw a friend who was working at Dana-Farber, she suggested I have an informational interview. In the years since, I've held a couple of different jobs here. I worked in Radiation Oncology and managed that clinic for a while. Later, I filled in for Lisa Scherber, the activities coordinator for the Jimmy Fund Clinic, during her first maternity leave. My current position opened up at that time, and somebody approached me about applying for it.
What is your job exactly?
My colleague and I are part of Pediatric Oncology's Division of Psychosocial Services. We help eligible families of on-treatment patients connect with resource assistance, and can refer them to local, regional, and national resource organizations. Much of our job is being a signpost and pointing families in the right direction. We also write many letters of advocacy; if a family is behind on a utility bill, for instance, we'll write the utility company explaining the situation and, hopefully, buy the family some time.
What do you enjoy in your spare time?
I like to garden, and I like to run — for exercise and stress release. When I had younger knees I ran longer distances, and from 1985-1994 I did the Boston Marathon® seven times. I'm also really into my Irish family history and Irish history in general, and for 10 to12 years have been doing research with the hope of writing something. I've gotten much more serious about it in the past three or four years, and I've made about eight research trips to Ireland.
What's a favorite memory at Dana-Farber?
One of the most moving experiences was when I was working with a family of a very sick teenage patient who had never been baptized. The patient was going to be baptized in the chapel at Children's Hospital [Boston], and they asked me to be a witness. Just beforehand, inside the chapel, the family kind of huddled together and then asked if I would be the patient's godfather. I said yes.
