LOA Retirees Will Miss Family Atmosphere
Things won’t be quite the same after the first of the year at Longview Orthopedic Associates. LOA is losing long-time employees Glenda Gillihan, Renee Mustion, and Cindy Wendy to retirement. The three have 65 years of combined service with the company.
Gillihan mentored LOA hires
Gillihan began her career with local OB/GYN William Blackstone, MD. When he died in 1983, she was hired by his son, Bruce Blackstone, who had returned to the area to open Longview Orthopedic Associates.
During her 28 years with LOA, Gillihan’s duties included administering wound care, removing casts and splints, taking x-rays, and removing staples and sutures from incisions. She was also responsible for training nurses that have been added to staff as the business has grown.
(L-R) Renee Mustion, Glenda Gillihan and Cindy Wend
“I’ve stayed with Longview Orthopedic Associates because they care about their employees and their patients,” Gillihan said. “Dr. (Bruce) Blackstone set the standard, and I’m proud to have been a part of who they are for so many years.”
Bruce Blackstone praised Gillihan for her willingness to mentor LOA’s nurses and medical assistants and to set the bar when it came to dedication and attention to detail. “She was fiercely loyal to me and our practice,” Blackstone said.
Mustion recorded 25 years of service
When David Black, MD, joined Bruce Blackstone at LOA in 1986, Black hired Mustion to handle insurance billing and to transcribe chart notes and letters for the physicians. At that time, all charges were handwritten on ledgers and backed up with carbon paper.
Longview Orthopedic Associates had three front office employees and two nurses when Mustion began her career. The staff now totals 40 and includes seven surgeons.
“Even though we have a much larger staff now that when I started, there is still a wonderful family atmosphere among the employees, which I will miss greatly,” she said.
Wend handled billing
Wend has worked in the billing department at LOA for the past 12 years. Her job duties included posting invoices, managing accounts, and credentialing for William Turner, MD, and Jon Kretzler, MD.
Like Gillihan and Mustion, she said she will miss the family atmosphere at LOA. “The doctors have been great to work for,” she said. “You could never find a better place to work.”
