Growing From Within: Tysheen Twitty

Tysheen Twitty joined MedStar Washington Hospital Center in 2012, coming onboard as an intern in a 90-day manager-in-training program with the hospital’s Environmental Services (EVS) team.

“My first impression was witnessing a rapid response,” said Tysheen. “I watched various departments coming together, showing me a teamwork environment. I saw this was a busy place with big teams working toward the same goal. I also noticed the people I met took care of everything the correct way.”

Within a year and a half, Tysheen was promoted to training and compliance manager, responsible for ensuring his department was compliant and up-to-date with training.

“I saw opportunities, during our routine regulatory inspections,” said Tysheen. “That’s the time to show our leaders what we are capable of. For example, I walked around to survey every restroom within the organization to report back on the state of pull cords. It was a tall order, but I knew that with the proper planning and the execution of that plan, we would be able get the job done. So that’s what we did, surveyed hundreds of restrooms and reported back within 24 hours.”

This detailed survey led to corrective action to prevent the pull cords from being used for self-harm. Leadership took note of examples like this and, after two years, Tysheen was promoted to Central Patient Transport (CPT) supervisor. It was then that Tysheen added another important skill set. During his rides to and from the Hospital Center on the Metro, Tysheen began teaching himself video editing by watching instructional videos on YouTube. It wasn’t long before word of his new talent got around. Our Office of Patient Experience (OPX) came calling and the video he made for last year’s OPX Fair was so impressive that he was asked to work on other videos. He produced a 2019 holiday greeting and an inspirational look at our team during the COVID-19 response to the tune of “Rise Up.” In the works: an update to our orientation “One Team” video.

“When I started making videos, I didn’t even know Dr. Argyros knew my name,” said Tysheen. “He held the door for me once and told me that the “One Team” video we created brought tears to his eyes and he would like to use it to kick off our hospital orientation. I was honored, surprised, and shocked.”

Tysheen has since been promoted to his current position as the manager of CPT. He eventually wants to become a senior director, managing multiple departments.

“I feel this hospital is definitely an organization that promotes from within,” said Tysheen. “As long as you’re willing to step up to the plate, you have a bright future here.”