DEDICATED EMPLOYEE RETIRES AFTER 50 YEARS
OF SERVICE, COMMITMENT TO SOUTH TEXAS CHILDREN

Driscoll Employee Delia Villarreal’s Retirement Ceremony
Friday, June 30, 2006 @ 2 p.m.
Driscoll Children’s Hospital - Auditorium

(Corpus Christi, TX) In a day and age when most employees in the workforce job hop every few years, 70-year-old Delia Villarreal is a true statistical anomaly. On Friday, June 30, 2006 at 2 p.m., the dedicated Driscoll Children’s Hospital employee will close an impressive chapter in her life, and retire after 50 years of faithful service to Driscoll Children’s Hospital. The hospital has been her sole employer for her entire life.

“I never wanted to work in a hospital. I’d see really sick children. The mom cried, the child cried, and I cried,” says Villarreal. “But here I am … 50 years later.”

Villarreal was born in Taft and moved to Corpus Christi at age 6. Her long relationship with Driscoll began in 1956 in the Admitting Department. She notes, the youngest children she helped admit in her early Driscoll days are at least 50-years-old now. 20 years ago, she migrated to the Health Information Management Department where she still works full-time today charting, delivering, and filing medical records, x-rays, and lab tests for the entire hospital.

In addition to seeing more than a dozen Presidents elected, wars won and lost, cars and styles vary dramatically, Villarreal notes the biggest change she saw at Driscoll first-hand in her departments was the implementation of computerization and technology. Charts used to be hand-written in the 50’s and 60’s, then typed on a typewriter in the 70’s, and, of course, now most are computerized. Today, Villarreal is a self-proclaimed VERY proficient two-fingered typist after contesting the change greatly.

“Knowing Delia these past 6 years has been a real inspiration to me. I will remember her generosity, her commitment to Driscoll, and unselfish acts of kindness. She has a lot of drive and energy that seems to go on and on like an Eveready Bunny,” says Rachel Reyes, RHIA, Director of Health Information Management and Delia’s supervisor. “Once you’ve met Delia, you’ll never forget her. She’s an angel in disguise. I wish her all the joy, peace, hope, prosperity and happiness she greatly deserves.”

Upon retirement, Villarreal says she look forward most to not being on a schedule and visiting her family.

About Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Improve the health of adults and you give them back their health …
Improve the health of children and you give them their life.”

Since opening its doors in 1953, Driscoll Children’s Hospital has been offering hope and healing to the children of South Texas for half a century. The facility is a 189-bed pediatric tertiary care center with pediatric board-certified specialists representing 19 medical and nine surgical specialties. Each year, more than 6,000 children are admitted for inpatient care, 5,000 for day surgery, and 50,000 for outpatient primary and specialty care, as well as 40,000 for emergency care, as the first South Texas hospital with emergency services exclusively for children. Additionally, Driscoll maintains a state-of-the-art ground/air transport team, 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit, 40-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and specialized medical outreach.

www.driscollchildrens.org

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