FOLLOWING IN HER FAMILY’S FOOTSTEPS, SERVING HER HOME TOWN

When I was in 9th grade at Jourdanton High School, I attended a Career Day session with the local hospital pharmacist, David Pesek. He talked so passionately about how much he enjoyed his job, how he can use most of his clinical skills and come home every day feeling like he truly helped people. He is actually my mom’s cousin; I’d grown up with him as our community pharmacist at the local independent pharmacy. He is beloved in our family and community and always sought after for advice.

After that presentation, I decided to be a pharmacist and worked toward that goal from that day forward. I attended the University of Texas College of Pharmacy and, during my intern year, lived back home in Jourdanton, where I had two rotations at Methodist Hospital | Atascosa (formerly South Texas Regional Medical Center). I was working for CVS at the time and planned a long career there, but I thought, “If I ever were to work at a hospital, it would be this one.”

After a year at CVS, I was ready for a change, my dad called David, and there happened to be an opening. It was my dream job, using my clinical skills with one of my mentors and serving my community. We work as part of the hospital’s clinical team but are also a community resource for drug information, people had been used to calling David with questions when he worked at Jourdanton Pharmacy, and that didn’t change when he came to work at the hospital. We even receive calls from local community pharmacists who need help with a medication question.

Growing up, I worked the counter at my family’s feed store, and I’ve had the opportunity to serve many of my former customers as patients. Same for family members, neighbors, and friends. The presence of our hospital means people here don’t have to drive an hour or more for appointments, procedures, or visiting loved ones. That means a lot to me because as my loved ones age, I become their chauffeur and, more importantly, their advocate. Over the last 12 years, this hospital has become like home. I even asked if I could stay an extra day after delivering my first child and getting such wonderful care from my colleagues; I wasn’t ready to leave. For a week during the snowstorm of February 2021, the hospital became home for many of us who sheltered here. I’ve always been proud of how our team steps up to meet challenges, and the Covid-19 pandemic was no exception. Our census doubled, and the number of critical patients went up exponentially. It was unlike anything I’d seen in our facility.

One Friday, we got word that we needed to convert our PACU into an overflow ICU to be ready the following day. I moved a tower and an additional refrigerator in from an unused Pyxis machine. We spent the night stocking the unit with medications. STRAC nurses and RTs were coming in to support the facility, but the rest of the ancillary departments had to make it work with the people we had. I am proud that we made it through those difficult times together and are still standing to support the community. It is a ministry for me.

I am also a music minister and play piano at church, so it is a true joy for me when I can bring that ministry to my job. Our surgical department started a tradition of Christmas caroling around the hospital during the holidays. Last year we took it out to the community in conjunction with our Share the Warmth blanket drive. We collected enough new blankets for every assisted living and skilled nursing home resident in the county and sang Christmas songs with them when they were delivered. Our last stop was where my grandparents live. My Granny Bea paid for my piano lessons growing up, and I was proud to be able to play for her and my Papa Tinker, who has dementia. Those blankets are still on the edge of their bed, and I’m grateful a piece of me is always close to them. The day was so joyful, and I know all of us were truly warmed by the experience and are ready to do it again this Christmas. Sometimes I think about asking if we could put a piano in the lobby, but then I probably wouldn’t get any work done!