On Day One of her new job, Theresa Lynn expected clear policies to lead the way. Instead, she found AMI East Cooper Community Hospital in Mount Pleasant still in its infancy.

Coming from another local hospital, she didn’t flinch.

“I started writing the hospital policies myself,” Lynn said with a laugh.

That was 40 years ago, but March 10, 1986, still shines bright in her memory. At 25, she was the only registered nurse working the night shift in the emergency department, which had four beds.

Over the last four decades, Novant Health East Cooper Medical Center (known affectionately among staff as “The Coop”), has changed names, moved locations and been recognized as one of America’s best physical rehab centers. Lynn has been there through it all.

For the first 20 years she worked as a staff nurse, before stepping into leadership roles as emergency department supervisor and later director. Since 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic, Lynn has taken on a broader role overseeing procedural nursing, managing staffing and patient care. She says each step has brought challenges but also a deeper connection to the hospital and its people. But she doesn’t get too into the details.

“My husband usually doesn’t like me to talk about work at dinner because it always involves blood or poop,” Lynn said.

One of the defining moments of her tenure came in 2010: the hospital’s move down the street to its current location. Relocating wasn’t just a logistical challenge, but an exhausting physical task that required the entire staff to pitch in to ensure that patient care continued without interruption.

The date is impossible to forget: “We all laughed because it was April Fool’s Day,” Lynn said. “We were very much a part of this building from the ground up. We all signed one of the steel girders they put in the building, so my name is in here somewhere.”

Over the last 40 years, Lynn has experienced not just institutional change, but also community transformation. Since 1986, Mount Pleasant’s population has surged from 20,000 to about five times that size, bringing more demand to the hospital’s care and services. (The original building stood two stories, a far cry from today’s five-floor facility.)

Through it all, one thing has kept her grounded.

“It’s the people who work here, and how willing they are to do anything to help make you successful,” Lynn said. “You know they have your back.”

Now 65, Lynn is planning to retire soon, though she admits it’s hard to completely step away from a place that has shaped so much of her life.

“I can’t imagine the day that I don’t get in the car and drive here,” she said. “It’s just ingrained in you — it’s muscle memory. So I’m sure after I retire, I’ll probably end up in the parking lot at least a couple of times.”