10 Questions with Lindsay Young

As a medical supply coordinator for the VNA of Cape Cod, Lindsay takes pride in making sure orders are filled and inventory is well stocked.

Lindsay Young’s department is a small yet mighty team of three.

“We have good feng shui,” says Lindsay. “We have been working together for years, and sometimes we read each other’s minds.”

As one of the medical supply coordinators for the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, Lindsay spends most of her day filling medical orders for wound care patients. She interacts with suppliers and insurance companies as well as VNA teams, schedulers and nurses. Lindsay also builds medical supply travel “trunks” for new nurses and delivers supplies to the VNA offices in Dennis, Harwich and Eastham.

“I feel like I should drive a U-Haul,” jokes Lindsay, who packs her car with boxes of gloves, hand sanitizer and lab supplies. “I take pride in how well I keep track of the inventory,” says Lindsay. “Sometimes things disappear or items go faster than I would have expected. That part is very challenging. I do feel guilty when things happen, and that weighs on me the most.”

Sixteen years ago, Lindsay started as a scheduler with the VNA in the home health aide department. She landed her current role seven years ago and describes both environments as “a little family where you always feel supported.”

Lindsay also works closely with wound specialists and enjoys learning the ins and outs of wound care. “So much of my job is remembering codes like ‘2508 enter’ into the computer,” says Lindsay, adding it’s more interesting to learn about the products, knowing the items aren’t just reference numbers.

“You get involved with so many different areas and you’re dipped into each department,” says Lindsay. “It’s a cool community we have here. The VNA seems so big, but at the same time, it’s so small.”

We caught up with Lindsay at her office located at 25 Communication Way in Hyannis. She jokes since her office is near the front entrance, she’s also the default doorwoman and is best friends with the W.B. Mason driver and the food vendor. During our chat, the Buzzards Bay resident shared her favorite mantra, something people would be surprised to learn, what a perfect day would look like and her last moment of self-care.

Meet Lindsay Young

1. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

I leave my house at 6:20 a.m. So, during the week, it’s an alarm clock and a good cup of coffee. On the weekends, I love being the first one up. I enjoy the peace and quiet before the streets and neighborhood are rumbling.

2. Do you have a mantra, quote or phrase you live by?

I don’t have a Roosevelt or Thoreau for you. It’s rather simple—“Me do it myself!” It’s one of the first sentences I said as a child. It still embodies the idea of independence, diligence and determination. You wouldn’t believe the amount of furniture I can move when I am home alone and no one is around! My husband will come home and say, ‘You don’t have to ‘me do it myself!”

3. What is the best advice you have received from a friend, family or coworker?

Taking time for yourself. Whether it’s taking a day of respite before you get burned out or taking five minutes or 10 minutes for yourself. A little bit of a break goes such a long way.

4. Is there something about you that people would be surprised to learn?

We live in a 120-year-old house in Buzzards Bay that is haunted, and I love it. When we first looked at the house, my mom came with me to view it and she found a heads-up penny. Quite often, I wake up and find one on my nightstand. I’ll also find them in the garden, on bricks, in the floorboards (during renovations). It’s too much of a coincidence. We will find them when we are working on something or when we are frustrated. One time, our washing machine broke and a heads-up penny appeared on the washer, just letting us know “it’s okay.” We hear the stairs creaking. My husband has seen “him” twice: a figment walking by our stairs and in our French doors. But it’s all been really positive. I think he likes me best! (She laughs.)

5. What would be your dream job?

I would love to design a store’s display windows. I once worked at a toy store in Mashpee Commons, and in one day, I made an entire jungle—vines, trees, leaves—out of tissue paper in the front window. It was just a creative spark I didn’t know I had. It would be a really interesting job.

6. What would you like to accomplish before the end of the year?

Making the most of the summer. We live over the bridge and sometimes it feels like everything revolves around access and traffic on the Cape.

7. When was your last moment of self-care?

I am pretty diligent about my skincare routine in the morning and evening. Once you take a therapeutic approach, it’s less of a task. It comes naturally.

8. What would a perfect day off look like for you?

A 6A drive. Checking out antiques and bookstores. I love home stuff and looking at the houses—the exteriors, the gardens, landscaping—it’s just so beautiful. I would end the day with a thunderstorm, and some wine and cheese.

9. Do you have a favorite binge TV show?

I love anything Nancy Meyers. I also loved the miniseries “All the Light We Cannot See,” which was a great book.

10. Anything on the horizon you are excited about?

A family wedding on a boat cruising the Cape Cod Canal the first week of August.