December 09, 2013

Shirley Jones (left), education specialist, Corporate Education, stands with her replacement, Kyla Jones. Shirley will retire Friday, Dec. 13, after more than 44 years at TriHealth.

Shirley Jones likes to say she grew up at TriHealth.

An education specialist in Corporate Education, Shirley started working at the former Bethesda Oak Hospital as a unit clerk when she was 21 years old. Since then, she has held several positions – from unit coordinator to service excellence facilitator to self-proclaimed corporate orientation guru.

She has served on a multitude of committees, councils and campaigns and built a reputation around her passion for her job.

“I think she brings so much wisdom and personality to TriHealth,” says Steve Mombach, vice president of ambulatory services. “She gives us oomph.”

Shirley has created “a memorable impact” on those with whom she has interacted, says Jennifer Weaver, manager, Corporate Education.

“It’s evident by the feedback that is always provided by her co-workers, peers and customers. Shirley has made a lasting impression on our organization.”

This month, after nearly 45 years at TriHealth, Shirley will retire. She plans to spend time with her husband, Bill, and relax; but, Shirley says, she’s still as gung-ho about her career as she was when she started.

“I still really love what I do,” Shirley says. “Lack of interest is not one of those motivators … It’s just time.”

Shirley’s last day at TriHealth is Friday, Dec. 13. A retirement party will be held in her honor from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Bethesda Oak in the Twin Oaks classroom on the ground floor. Refreshments will be served.

Most people recognize Shirley from their first day at TriHealth when they attended a corporate orientation session. Corporate Education estimates Shirley has welcomed more than 25,000 team members to TriHealth in the past 30 years.

Greeting new team members at the door is something Shirley says she’s cherished through the years, “whether it’s the housekeeper or the house doctor.”

When she went through the hiring process herself, Shirley waited in a long line on Reading Road, one of 84 applicants for a dozen open unit clerk positions. When she got the job, her plan was to work until she became a mother, but that day came and went.

“I had fallen in love with Bethesda – I mean literally,” Shirley says. “I needed the money, too, so it wasn’t like I was wealthy and could not work, but I had fallen in love with the job. I loved unit coordinating.”

Shirley worked for nearly 15 years as a unit clerk before becoming an instructor in Clinical Staff Development, which later became Corporate Education when TriHealth formed in 1996. She has taught a variety of courses and even developed her own. In the late 1980s, she formulated and taught the first cultural competence workshop at TriHealth.

She also created and led the unit coordinator orientation program, taught medical terminology and CPR courses and facilitated Caring for People First. She has hosted the TriHealth Awards Banquet and memorably dressed as Santa’s elf for the Children of Employees’ Christmas Party for many years.

Outside of the classroom, Shirley has led or served on countless boards, committees and interest groups, but she’s most proud of her efforts as co-chair of Hospice of Cincinnati’s 1995 campaign to construct its Cooper Road location in Blue Ash. She and her co-chair pounded the pavement round the clock to take in $250,000, and they did it less than six months.

Her work on the campaign came full circle when her father spent time in Hospice for two months before making a miraculous recovery and living for another three years.

“My dad got such good care there that they put him out because he had gained 11 pounds,” Shirley says.

As Shirley looks toward retirement this month, she knows she’ll miss her co-workers most.

“The people, the relationships, the faces the voices … the best relationships of my life, I’ve made here,” she says.

Does she plan to come back and visit? “Oh, yeah.”

Through this process, Shirley’s glad to have a replacement, Kyla Jones, who shares the same passion for her job and TriHealth. Kyla already has led corporate orientation sessions with Shirley’s guidance. The two participated in a symbolic baton-passing ceremony earlier this year.

“I couldn’t be happier leaving it with Kyla. She’s just very, very perfect for this job,” Shirley says. “That eases my pain. If you work very hard on building something up and making it good and raising the standards, you want to think that it can go on without you.”