Valecia Dupree: 30 years
Health Unit Coordinator
Psychiatry Unit
First UTSW job: Health Unit Coordinator.
Best part about my job: Delivering exceptional customer service. I also like being able to effectively coordinate and complete tasks on the unit. Also, laughing with family members of patients or handing them a tissue to dry their tears is rewarding.
How co-workers describe me: The conductor. I’m the first point of contact for patients and their families.
Best UTSW memory: One year the staff and I played a Halloween joke on the Housekeeping supervisor. We told her bats were in the building. She asked where they were and then saw our paper-cutout bats hanging around. The expression on her face was priceless. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
My proudest UTSW accomplishment: The years of experience. All the knowledge I have embraced in 30 years at a workplace of this magnitude is impressive. You don’t get that every day, and I am beyond grateful.
I’m really good at: Being dedicated.
Hobbies: Gardening. I love to see a plant or flower grow from almost nothing into the unexpected.
Surprising fact: Being on the cover of the Center Times campus newspaper as part of the 75th anniversary campaign. I was recognized throughout campus.
Final note: I thank God for my two families – they keep the knots tied in my life, and they include my husband, Rickey Dupree Sr., and my sons, Rickey Jr. and Roderick; they’re the core of who I am. As for my UTSW family, they define my work values.