Employee Service Honored During Ether Day Celebration

In 1994, the television shows Friends and ER aired for the first time and soon became must-see-TV and would last for 10 and 15 seasons, respectively. It was also the year that Talli McCormick, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, made her debut as an MGH Institute employee, beginning a 30-year run that continues to this day.

McCormick, who teaches Health Assessment, was one of 37 employees honored during the annual Ether Day celebration, which took place Tuesday in 1CW. Timed around the anniversary of the first public surgery using the flammable liquid, ether, as an anesthetic at Mass General, Ether Day is now used to celebrate employees for every five years they have worked for the Mass General Brigham system. This year’s honorees represent a combined 430 years of time at the MGH Institute, which has undergone many changes, even in the last five years. 

“You’re a very special part of this organization’s history,” President Paula Milone-Nuzzo told the gathering of faculty and staff. “You helped us face change, maintain our graduate student focus, advance our educational programs, and prepare tomorrow’s healthcare leaders. Regardless of what number you are celebrating, we feel privileged that you’re a part of the MGH Institute community and thank you for all the years of service you have contributed.”

None of the honorees has seen more change during their Institute career than McCormick. She began her time at the Institute as a student in 1985 and became an employee the same year Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital formed Partners Healthcare, now known as Mass General Brigham. She was also the only employee being celebrated who worked at the Institute when it was not located in Charlestown. 

“I never envisioned leaving,” said McCormick. “I am happy here. It is really wonderful to contribute to the development of new nurses who will carry on the nursing tradition of clinical excellence that we were founded on.”