When I came to Primary Children’s Hospital ten years ago, I had no idea what an impact it would have on me.
![child football player](/-/media/images/caregiver-news/childrens-health/2023/08/child-super-bowl.jpg?la=en&h=504&w=896&mw=896&hash=073D991E68E4E65729524544CF3B5FF99D9337DD)
Before then, I worked in adult-oriented facilities and worked with adult care providers. I was excited to join Primary Children’s; after all, I had already worked for the two previous CEOs of Primary Children’s after they had left the position—and both talked about it endlessly with deep joy and appreciation. After a decade at this hospital, I now know that there is no place in healthcare like a children’s hospital and there is no one I’d rather work with—and for—than people who dedicate their life’s work to kids.
We are all drawn to the mission and the experience of working with families and children. Uniquely vulnerable, they need a special kind of care. For many, we are their only option. Some are going through the toughest moments of their lives. Over the years we have grown more specialized, more acute, and more complex. The work has gotten harder, but thankfully, the miracles and successes also continue to grow—it’s why we see more kids from more places than at any other time in our history. As our former Director of Surgical Services, Mary Anne Douglas, would say, “This is the super bowl of healthcare”.
We stay at Primary Children’s not only for the love of the work and the kids, but also out of love for our colleagues. We are drawn together by a shared commitment and passion, and over time by shared experiences of both highs and lows. We support each other and lean on each other in work and in life. I often describe Primary Children’s as a lifestyle and a cause. It is all encompassing. As a cause, it motivates and inspires and pushes us beyond what we thought was possible both for ourselves and our patients and families.
There is a special joy and pride that comes from telling someone I work here. I am guessing it’s the same for you. There is a respect and appreciation that most people immediately express for Primary Children’s. They tell you their stories and share how much of a difference the caregivers of Primary’s have made in their lives and the lives of their families and friends. They recognize what we all know—this is a special and unique place—and you are the people who make it so. Your expertise, compassion, commitment, and relentless drive to improve the care and caring we give is why Primary Children’s continues to be the amazing, essential, and incomparable place it is. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for continuing this incredible work, for making this all possible, for improving and building on a legacy of excellence in the pursuit of better health for children. We have much more to do and I’m so proud and grateful to work alongside you!
We are all drawn to the mission and the experience of working with families and children. Uniquely vulnerable, they need a special kind of care. For many, we are their only option. Some are going through the toughest moments of their lives. Over the years we have grown more specialized, more acute, and more complex. The work has gotten harder, but thankfully, the miracles and successes also continue to grow—it’s why we see more kids from more places than at any other time in our history. As our former Director of Surgical Services, Mary Anne Douglas, would say, “This is the super bowl of healthcare”.
We stay at Primary Children’s not only for the love of the work and the kids, but also out of love for our colleagues. We are drawn together by a shared commitment and passion, and over time by shared experiences of both highs and lows. We support each other and lean on each other in work and in life. I often describe Primary Children’s as a lifestyle and a cause. It is all encompassing. As a cause, it motivates and inspires and pushes us beyond what we thought was possible both for ourselves and our patients and families.
There is a special joy and pride that comes from telling someone I work here. I am guessing it’s the same for you. There is a respect and appreciation that most people immediately express for Primary Children’s. They tell you their stories and share how much of a difference the caregivers of Primary’s have made in their lives and the lives of their families and friends. They recognize what we all know—this is a special and unique place—and you are the people who make it so. Your expertise, compassion, commitment, and relentless drive to improve the care and caring we give is why Primary Children’s continues to be the amazing, essential, and incomparable place it is. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for continuing this incredible work, for making this all possible, for improving and building on a legacy of excellence in the pursuit of better health for children. We have much more to do and I’m so proud and grateful to work alongside you!