Mary Albers had no idea the importance organ transplants would one day play in her life when she started her career in nursing. Now the vice president of the AdventHealth Transplant Institute and Our Legacy, the federally-designated organ procurement organization for 10 counties in east Central Florida, Albers’ journey began as a registered nurse, helping cancer patients in Georgia.
Then something happened that changed everything. Her son, Dylan, who was 15 at the time, needed a heart transplant.
“In May of 2021, my son received the gift of life through a heart transplant right in the middle of COVID,” Albers said.
Three years later, Dylan, now 18, is healthy and thriving. “He’s doing great! [He] got his first apartment and his driver license. [He] has his own truck and is attending Full Sail University,” Albers added.
Albers’ career in Colorado included senior leadership roles with Centura Health, which was in a partnership with AdventHealth at the time. “I got to see [the AdventHealth] culture and I knew I loved the people here,” Albers said.
That experience and Dylan’s transplant journey factored heavily in Albers’ decision to pursue a leadership role at AdventHealth. “I was fast to reach out, especially being the mom of a patient [who needed] a heart transplant,” Albers said.
After starting her new role in October 2023, Albers recently attended the AdventHealth transplant reunion picnic for the first time. Afterward, she reflected on the duality of leading a major transplant program while being the mother of a teenaged organ recipient.
“I’m still learning how to interweave our personal life into work, which really is what drove this passion here. I’d say it’s very healing.”
Click here or on the picture at the top of the page to hear more from Mary Albers.
Nearly 104,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving transplant in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Of those, almost 600 are being cared for by teams at the AdventHealth Transplant Institute, Orlando’s only solid-organ transplant program.
Florida residents can sign up to be an organ donor at https://www.donatelifeflorida.org.
12 items. To interact with these items, press Control-Option-Shift-Right Arrow. These items are in a slider. To advance slider forward, press Shift-Command-Right Arrow. To advance slider backward, press Shift-Command-Left Arrow.
News
Am I too young for joint replacement?
Who do you picture when you think of someone with a knee or hip replacement? Someone elderly? Sometimes this is true, but increasingly Gen Xers — and folks even younger — are getting joint...
News
The lifesaving screening women are skipping
Pap tests save lives — yet fewer women are getting them on time.
News
Little heart, big strength
When Katie and Sam Hughes welcomed their daughter Scottie into the world, they expected the usual mix of excitement and nerves that comes with becoming first-time parents. What they didn’t expect was...
News
New treatment offers relief for long-lasting tendon pain
Minimally invasive TenJet procedure now available at AdventHealth Waterman.
News
AdventHealth opens Meadow Woods ER, expanding emergency care access in south Orange County
The 12-bed emergency room brings timely, lifesaving care closer to home for a fast-growing community
Press Release
AdventHealth opens new urgent and primary care location to meet growing demand in Northeast Polk County
Families in Northeast Polk County now have more convenient options for their everyday health needs with the opening of new, side-by-side AdventHealth Centra Care and AdventHealth Primary Care+ locatio...
Press Release
Sisters welcome newborns hours apart at AdventHealth South Overland Park
Sisters welcomed babies just four hours apart on the same day at AdventHealth South Overland Park, delivering cousins only doors apart.
News
The missing piece
Does your weight loss plan include fiber? It should.
News
AdventHealth Medical Group opens new clinic in Summerville
AdventHealth Medical Group celebrated the grand opening of AdventHealth Medical Group Primary Care & Urgent Care at Summerville, expanding access to convenient, whole-person care for families across...
News
AdventHealth expands access with new advanced CT and MRI technology in Deltona
AdventHealth has expanded the Deltona community’s access to advanced diagnostic imaging with the addition of a new state-of-the-art CT scanner and MRI machine, giving patients faster results and more...
News
AdventHealth Zephyrhills marks major construction milestone to bring more care to a growing community
Progress is happening on the AdventHealth Zephyrhills hospital campus that’s leading to expanded, high-quality health care closer to home for Zephyrhills residents.
News
AdventHealth Avista Performs First Ileocaval Reconstruction
AdventHealth Avista’s Interventional Radiology (IR) team recently performed its first ileocaval reconstruction, a complex, minimally invasive procedure designed to restore blood flow through the veins...