‘Singing Fred’ inspires, encourages patients at Princeton Baptist Medical Center

In the halls of Princeton Baptist Medical Center amidst the chatter of patients and their families and the patter of footsteps as doctors and nurses make their rounds, there is a little bit of church music that makes its way to the Ensley hospital.

Fred Agena, a patient transporter, has been singing to patients as he takes them around the hospital for the past four years. The two songs he sings, “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art,” just “came into his mind” to sing one day, he said, and the patient he was transporting told him to keep singing.

“It’s a gift from the Lord,” Agena said.

While he is not a professional singer, Agena said “nothing is impossible” with God.

Agena, a native of the Philippines, came to America in 2012 following his son who also works in the U.S. Agena applied for a job at Princeton in 2013 and started in environmental services, making sure the hospital stayed clean. He worked in that role for three years before moving to California for two years. Following that, he came back to Princeton in 2018 as a patient transporter.

Agena works Monday through Saturday, but enjoys his day of rest on Sunday. While he sings other gospel songs, the two old hymns remain his “priority” because they came “from the Lord” and he has to share it, he said.

He’s been able to interact with many different people by using his gift. One patient was a pastor and told Agena he had “touched [his] heart,” and invited him to his church. Some patients have even requested him as their transporter, having heard of his singing, he said.

Agena said he feels he is able to lift people’s spirits and that they “feel the Holy Spirit.”

Two years after he sang for a patient, the person came back and said Agena’s singing inspired them and they changed their life, losing 50 pounds. They had come back to thank him, he said.

“I’m so proud to be here,” Agena said. “That’s my happiness every day.”

Tenet Healthcare, which oversees a group of hospitals that includes Princeton, recognized Agena’s inspiring efforts by naming him a “Tenet Hero.” This award is given to employees that “most embody Tenet’s core values of quality, integrity, service, innovation, and transparency.”

“It was a surprise for me,” Agena said about the award.

Lavon Beard, associate administrator and Agena’s supervisor, said Agena’s voice “means everything” to patients. His singing extends the mission of the hospital to spread the “healing power of Christ” to everyone who comes through the doors, Beard said.