The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - With many steps in between, Monte Fulbright has come full circle, from his student days here to signing on as Dayton General Hospital's new Laboratory Department Manager.

After graduating from Dayton High School in 1978, Fulbright attended school in Pullman with the intention of pursuing a career in agriculture. Armed with a degree in science from WSU, Fulbright did some substitute teaching at Waitsburg and Dayton High Schools for a couple of years. Then came a career shift.

While attending a Boy Scout Club meeting in the Summer of 1988, Fullbright met an Italian-speaking woman and her quadriplegic husband, who were in Dayton to receive treatments for the husband by the renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Carl Kao, who was practicing at DGH.

Because Fulbright speaks Italian and could act as a go-between for the couple and Dr. Kao, he was given an opportunity to apply for a job assisting in the Physical Therapy Department.

"I loved it," he said about his six months working with Dr. Kao and his patients, many of whom came from places all around the world.

When Dr. Kao left the area, Fulbright was given an opportunity to work in the Laboratory Department at DGH. Ann Olson, the manager of the laboratory, took Fulbright under her wing. Fulbright said that Olson taught him all aspects of laboratory medicine.

"I got to do testing, blood bank, and microbiology," he said. "Ann was so enjoyable, such a positive person," Fulbright said about his mentor.

Olson encouraged Fulbright to certify as a Medical Technologist, so Fulbright approached the board of hospital commissioners with a request for monetary help. The commissioners gave him a $15,000 scholarship from the Booker Trust.

Fulbright attended EWU for one year and the Sacred Heart School of Medical Technology for an additional year.

"These two schools provided the theory and practical experience, which formed the solid foundation which is so important in a clinical laboratory," said Fulbright.

In 1995 Fulbright was employed at DGH as the laboratory manager before moving on to Chewelah, Wash., in 2002. There he was employed by Providence Health and Services as the laboratory manager at hospitals in Chewelah and Colville, Wash.

When Fulbright and his wife, Michelle, were visiting friends and family in Dayton last year, he checked into an opening at DGH for a laboratory department manager. He applied for the job and the rest, they say, is history.

"I kind of fell into this," said Fulbright. "I had wanted to do something in farming. Working in a hospital was the last thing on my mind, but once I started working in the lab, I was fascinated by diagnosing interesting diseases and conditions. I view this as much as a calling as it is a job opportunity," he explained.

"During the thirteen years that we lived and worked in the Chewelah area, we returned frequently to Dayton to visit family and participate in community events," said Fulbright. "We always anticipated these visits, and even though we were away for many years. . . we considered Dayton our home," he said.

The Fullbrights have eight children, ranging in age from 14 to 29. They are currently in the process of moving from Chewelah to Dayton.