Thank you Betty Champlin for 40 years of service

Betty Champlin has seen a lot of change (and many CEOs and Directors of Nursing) in her 40 years at Campbell County Health, all of it in Linen Services. This Friday, January 12, 2018, Betty retires.

Only a few hundred employees worked at the hospital when she started, which was located on the site of the Campbell County Senior Center. Betty remembers that the commercial washing machines didn’t spin the excess water from each load; linen had to be transferred to another machine called an “extractor” to spin dry. Just like a centrifuge in the Lab, if the extractor wasn’t balanced properly, bad things would happen. Betty tells a story of when the top blew right off the extractor like a flying saucer and landed in the folding room among the startled staff members. Luckily no one was hurt.

Another great memory involves a buff-colored rolling metal laundry cart still used in the department today. Betty turned the cart around to display a huge dent in the back, caused when it fell out of the ambulance during the move to the new hospital in 1982.

“No one had a day off during the move,” said Betty. “Everyone pitched in and we didn’t use moving trucks. We were doing laundry in the new hospital before the move, and I hauled it back to the old building in my own vehicle.”

Betty began working in Linen Services right out of college alongside her mom Joan, who worked in the department for 26 years. After Joan retired, Betty took over from her as Supervisor.

While most hospitals around the country now send their laundry out to be processed, Linen Services at CCH has grown to include Campbell County Medical Group clinics, The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center and will soon add Powder River Surgery Center (PRSC).

Betty says she won’t miss the staffing issues and the early morning hours, but she will miss the people.

Tammy Rockafellow will take over as Linen Supervisor, a move which Betty approves. Tammy worked for Betty for 20 years, transferred to Environmental Services, and is now training to take over for her.

“Betty has a lot of knowledge to share,” says Tammy. “She’s the one that knows what it means if a machine makes this certain noise.”

Betty is going to spend a month or so traveling after she retires, with trips planned to Las Vegas, Arizona and Texas. After that she’s looking forward to staying with her grandchildren in Cheyenne while her daughter travels for work.

Thanks Betty, for providing a clean and comfortable environment for patients, visitors and staff for 40 years!