Home » A Tu Salud » Former Parkland employees gather to celebrate anniversary
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Home > A Tu Salud > Former Parkland employees gather to celebrate anniversary
Posted: 5/20/2019
Share memorable stories from hospital’s history
Patients and visitors to Parkland Memorial Hospital and its network of community-based health centers will notice something different as they pass through the doors at each facility. What’s new is a temporary seal featuring the Dallas skyline and the words ‘Parkland 125th Anniversary’ below. The seal commemorates Parkland’s decades-long history and dedication to the community.
Parkland has also updated its website for the anniversary. The new pages, which can be found at www.parklandhospital.com/parkland125, include Parkland’s history, videos of Parkland staff sharing why Parkland is important to them and 125 healthy tips. The system will be sharing the tips one at a time via social media daily.
In addition, Parkland employees past and present came together earlier this month to celebrate the system that officially opened on May 19, 1894 in a series of wooden buildings at the corner of Oak Lawn and Maple avenues.
Members of the Parkland Retirees Organization (PROs) took part in various story-telling sessions throughout the celebration and were able to share a little of the past with those present.
“It was wonderful to be back at Parkland to ‘Celebrate Us!’ and Parkland’s 125th. I loved the energy and excitement among staff. They are the heartbeat of Parkland and their commitment to serve the community is as strong as ever,” said Carolyn Storm-Kettenacker who worked at Parkland from 1990-1997, and again from 2002-2008. “Having invested quite a few hours and lots of energy at Parkland like so many who have gone before me, I was thrilled to see the evolution of some of the initiatives I was a part of while at Parkland.”
Storm-Kettenacker cited the rollout of the Parkland House Standards in 1995 and its transition into CIRCLES – the Parkland Behavioral Standards of Compassion, Integrity, Respect, Collaboration, Leadership, Excellence, Stewardship – that guide employees’ actions and interactions – as a prime example of one of those early-adopted initiatives that carries forth today.
Along with the initiatives, Storm-Kettenacker laughed as she recalled the early days of cell phones at Parkland.
“I remember one of the administrative residents was charged with researching mobile phones. These 10-pound suitcase-like phones were just coming out,” she said. “Mac Day (Parkland’s long-time chief operating officer who died in 2001) wanted to purchase a couple that Administrators on Call could check out from Administration so they wouldn’t have to pull over and find a pay phone to answer a page in the middle of the night when we were coming to and from the hospital.
“I just remember those things were huge,” she said laughing, “But it sure beat carrying around a bag of quarters!”
Beverly Sadler Majkut, a former long-time director in what was then called Women & Children’s Services (1973-1976 and 1978-2003), talked about Parkland’s 50th anniversary celebration on the Harry Hines campus in 2004.
“We had a huge celebration in the breezeway between Parkland and Zale-Lipshy (University Hospital) with a press conference that included the Dallas Mayor, past and present members of the Board and several others who spoke about Parkland’s importance to the community,” Majkut said. “During lunch or breaks from caring for our patients, we could listen to bands and watch dancers who donated their time to help us celebrate.”
Majkut also talked about T-shirts that were sold as a fund-raiser and quickly sold out. “It said, ‘I’ve worked this corner for 50 years’,” she said laughing. “Needless to say, there were some who thought it was funny and others who took offense. You just had to appreciate the times.”
Even for long-time employees like Kristi Tillery, a Captain with the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department who just celebrated more than 26 years at Parkland, hearing some of the retirees’ stories brought back a flood of memories.
“Hearing their stories and how things have changed over the years took me back in time,” Capt. Tillery said. “It’s funny how memories can fade but then someone will mention a time or an event and it feels like it was just yesterday, not 20 years ago.”
Even though she left more than a decade ago, Storm-Kettenacker said one thing remains true for those who cared for patients in the past as well as those who do so today – dedication to Parkland’s mission of serving all in need.
“We bleed ‘Parkland purple.’ Always have, always will.”
For more information about services available at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.