“Boone cares about employees,” says April Employee of the Month

Rubin Byishimo is Boone Hospital Center’s Employee of the Month for April 2014. Click here to nominate someone for Employee of the Month.

When Rubin Byishimo learned that he was Boone Hospital Center’s April Employee of the Month, he admits he was surprised.

Rubin joined Boone Hospital Center in February 2012 as a lab assistant. In his current role, he works with patients, drawing blood and collecting and processing specimens. He visits many areas of the hospital on his shift, both outpatient clinics and inpatient units.

“We’re everywhere,” he says, smiling.

Rubin enjoys his job and the teamwork and leadership he experiences every day in the Laboratory. He especially likes the flexible scheduling in his department, which allows him to take classes at the University of Missouri, where he plans to attend nursing school.

Rubin came to Columbia from Portland, Maine, where he had been living until his uncle wanted to live somewhere warmer than coastal New England. The United States is Rubin’s fourth country; he moved here in 2003 and previously lived in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was born.

“I like Columbia because it’s small, but it has good schools, the University and great health care.”

Outside of work, Rubin is a musician. He plays piano, guitar, drums and is currently learning the organ. He plays music for the African congregation at the First Baptist Church in Columbia. He also travels to visit friends and family in Maine and Ohio. And he enjoys playing soccer, a sport he grew up with. “I enjoy basketball, too, now,” Rubin says, “But soccer is my main sport.”

When asked what he liked best about working at Boone Hospital Center, Rubin says, “Boone cares about their employees.”