40 Years: Patricia Campise

Patricia Campise
Patricia Campise

Patricia Campise, a Unit Secretary in the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, has been at UT Southwestern Medical Center 40 years in part because of her co-workers and her affection for the patients who come to UT Southwestern to get new hearts and lungs.

Reflecting the spirit of the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit, Ms. Campise’s job is all about patient care. She greets patients when they arrive and makes sure that they’re able to contact their nurses at all times. While they’re in Clements University Hospital, she makes certain that they and their families have everything needed.

“I believe the people I work with are a lot like a family,” says Ms. Campise, who started her career in 1974. “Most of us have been here for years, and when you work with people for a long time you learn a lot about each other.”

And she’s been firmly anchored in her job for basically the entire time she’s been at the medical center. That enduring experience of making things happen daily for the patient makes her working life a steady joy, she says.

Ms. Campise’s favorite memory from what is now a 40-year career is of a patient who was leaving the unit, but he wanted to do one thing: “He wanted to meet the person who answered his calls for a nurse while he was in the unit.

“That was me, and I appreciated that he had had a good experience here.”

Her workplace experience is even better since Dec. 6, 2014, when Clements University Hospital opened. Still, a bit of a learning curve remains.

“The hospital is something to get used to,” Ms. Campise says. “It’s much bigger, of course, and I’m still finding my way around. But it’s a beautiful place.

“The majority of our team came over from St. Paul University Hospital, which helped with continuity. And some of the people who are no longer in our unit are still in other places in the hospital, so we find each other and talk about how things are going.”

Ms. Campise’s large family includes her mother, three siblings, 10 nieces and nephews, and three grandnieces and grandnephews.

In her off-duty time, she likes to visit with family, to read, and work on puzzles.

Employee Recognition 2015

Long-term employees play an invaluable role in the life of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Their faithful, dedicated service has helped the institution become what it is today. In this special edition of Center Times, we showcase some of these employees and their varied interests.