LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – If you\u2019ve ever called the eighth floor at Covenant Hospital, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ve heard a greeting from Virginia McCutcheon. <\/p>\n
\u201cBlessings from Mercy 8, this is Virginia, secretary speaking,\u201d McCutcheon said.<\/p>\n
For five decades, McCutcheon has been the person on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk just a second let me get that nurse for you,\u201d she says during a typical call.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy granddad always told me that it\u2019ll be the best job to have is in a hospital because it\u2019s always be sick people,\u201d McCutcheon said.<\/p>\n
She started in medical-surgical care during an era when everything was documented by hand, long before computers transformed how hospitals operate.<\/p>\n
Through every shift in technology and every expansion of the hospital, McCutcheon remained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say it\u2019s just been a privilege working here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Fifty years later, she\u2019s still in the same role, still answering calls, still helping families navigate one of the most stressful experiences they\u2019ll face.<\/p>\n
Her approach hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to put myself in their position, how would I feel coming not knowing anything about a place or hospital,\u201d McCutcheon said.<\/p>\n
And she\u2019s not planning to stop anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going another 5, 10, 15, 20 years? What\u2019s the plan?\u201d she was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever God says, it\u2019s all in his hands and I believe he gives me strength, I\u2019ll keep coming,\u201d McCutcheon said.<\/p>\n
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