LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – If you’ve ever called the eighth floor at Covenant Hospital, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a greeting from Virginia McCutcheon.
“Blessings from Mercy 8, this is Virginia, secretary speaking,” McCutcheon said.
For five decades, McCutcheon has been the person on the other end of the line.
“Ok just a second let me get that nurse for you,” she says during a typical call.
McCutcheon moved to Lubbock in 1974 with her mother and children. She took a chance on a six-week training program, unsure where it would lead. What began as a job turned into something much deeper.
“My granddad always told me that it’ll be the best job to have is in a hospital because it’s always be sick people,” McCutcheon said.
She started in medical-surgical care during an era when everything was documented by hand, long before computers transformed how hospitals operate.
Through every shift in technology and every expansion of the hospital, McCutcheon remained.
“I would say it’s just been a privilege working here,” she said.
Fifty years later, she’s still in the same role, still answering calls, still helping families navigate one of the most stressful experiences they’ll face.
Her approach hasn’t changed.
“I try to put myself in their position, how would I feel coming not knowing anything about a place or hospital,” McCutcheon said.
And she’s not planning to stop anytime soon.
“Are you going another 5, 10, 15, 20 years? What’s the plan?” she was asked.
“Whatever God says, it’s all in his hands and I believe he gives me strength, I’ll keep coming,” McCutcheon said.
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