Postcard Changes Life of a Nationwide Children's Employee

Local Resident’s Story Comes Full Circle Thanks to Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families

It all started with a postcard.

In 2014, Dominic Wade-Holliman received a postcard from Nationwide Children’s Hospital advertising a free Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) job assistance workshop and resume class.

Dominic, who was 21 at the time, was working as a part-time salesman, but wanted a job with an organization where he had more opportunities to advance. He jumped at the chance to attend the workshop, where he met Lina Lee, a recruiter who provided advice on his resume and cover letter.

Lina took an immediate liking to Dominic. And she knew he was serious about his career when he sent her an updated resume the very next day.

She sent him a few prospective jobs, and before he knew it, Dominic was arriving for his first day as a constant attendant in Big Lots Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children’s. His job included watching patients who were at risk for hurting themselves.

“Sometimes the kids just needed someone to talk to,” he says. “Even my small role was helpful to those patients.”

He loved his job, but still aspired to move up within the organization. He learned of an opening in the Radiology Department as a patient access representative, where he worked while he completed his bachelor’s in Healthcare Management at Franklin University. Upon graduating, he applied for other positions at Nationwide Children’s that fit his degree.

“I didn’t want to leave the hospital. I wanted to give it a chance because it took a chance on me,” he says.

Today, he works as an outreach coordinator for practices in central and southern Ohio, and Kentucky through Partners For Kids. Thanks to the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families program, his story has come full circle. It all started with a postcard. Now one of his main responsibilities is encouraging well visits – by sending postcards to patients.

“If someone looks at it and takes action, it all comes back to that,” he says.

This story was originally featured in the Summer 2021 HNHF Newsletter. Click here to download the full newsletter.