Ray McDonald, a Hometown Hero honoree, was nominated by his mother-in-law, Diane Dum. McDonald was honored by Rotarians in Evans City during a ceremony Aug. 31. Butler Eagle photo
Ray McDonald of Evans City has worked his way through the medical profession from emergency medical technician to his current job as a registered nurse in the UPMC Passavant-McCandless post-anesthesia care unit.
It was cars, in a roundabout way, that started him on his career path.
He had a job working in the automotive field when he joined the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company as a firefighter in 2006 when he lived in the township.
“Seeing people getting hurt in accidents was hard because I couldn’t help them, so I went to EMT class and advanced from there,” McDonald said.
His devotion to caring for people is what led his mother-in-law, Diane Dum, to nominate him for one of the Hometown Hero awards, and he was recognized by Rotarians from Evans City.
“He's just medically wise and a very devoted person, always gives 100%, puts the patients first. He's very into his job,” Dum said. “With the hospital short staffed, he gave up lunches and breaks because the patients came first.”
McDonald said witnessing the aftermath of vehicle accidents really affected him.
“I just thought that it was neat how they could manage care on someone,” McDonald said about EMTs. “That's what struck my interest.”
At one point, he joined the Evans City Volunteer Fire Department and served in its quick response service that assists at emergencies until an ambulance can arrive.
After completing his EMT training, he joined the Cranberry Township Emergency Medical Service in 2007. Eventually, the service began offering paid EMT positions and he landed one of those jobs.
While working as an EMT, he studied to become a nurse and received his nursing certificate.
He then began working as a prehospital registered nurse for Cranberry Township EMS and for STAT MedEvac, the emergency medical helicopter service operated by UPMC.
From 2011 through August this year, McDonald was an emergency room nurse at UPMC Passavant-McCandless. He said he still picks up shifts in the emergency room when he can, but he likes his new job in the hospital’s post-anesthesia care unit.
In that position, he said he performs blood work to prepare patients for surgery and helps patients recover from anesthesia after surgery before they are discharged or sent to their hospital rooms.
McDonald said the Monday through Friday schedule of his current job is different from the varying shifts he worked in the emergency department, which is open 24 hours a day.
“I’m happy now, but I thought about going back to school for a master’s degree or nurse practitioner. With a master’s, you can teach. I’m still thinking about it,” McDonald said.
His wife, Alexis, whom he married in 2011, and his mother work at the same hospital. Alexis worked as a hairstylist in the hospital from the year they were married until last year when she got a job in the gastrointestinal unit. That’s also where his mother is a longtime employee.
“My mom’s been there forever. My grandma was a secretary in the same hospital. My aunt used to work there. I have another aunt who’s a nurse at Children’s (Hospital of Pittsburgh). I have cousins who are nurses,” McDonald said.
He and Alexis have two sons, 3-year-old Brayden and 1-year-old Carter, who has recovered from open heart surgery he had when he was 6 months old to correct a hole in the bottom of his heart that allowed unoxygenated blood and oxygenated blood to mix.
“He’s doing really well. He started walking. We’re chasing him around the house,” McDonald said. “He will have to be monitored throughout his life.”
McDonald said he was surprised to learn he won the Hometown Hero award. He said he prefers not to seek recognition.
Dum said she was surprised, too, because many people were nominated.
“I’m touched,” Dum said. “He is well deserving.”
