At Bethany Children’s Health Center, our employees truly are the heartbeat that drives the organization. Every day, through the care and service they provide, they live our mission of maximizing the potential of every child and exemplify our core values of compassion, integrity, excellence, service and stewardship.
We hope you enjoy getting to know our amazing employees through our Heartbeat profiles.
“Service with a Smile”
Supporting fellow employees through a challenging year
When Employee Health Nurse, Julie Brooks, got a late-night text on March 11, 2020 after the OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz cancelled their game due to a player testing positive for COVID-19, it was a turning point. Employees were told that anyone who had attended the game should not report to work and notify Julie in the morning for further instructions.
“That’s when it got real,” she recalls. “At first, the hardest part was all of the unknowns, and there was so much anxiety around COVID because we didn’t know that much about it. There were lots of questions and it was really hard because we didn’t necessarily know the answers to them.”
As a part of the hospital’s COVID Task Force, which had already been meeting regularly, Brooks took on a slew of new responsibilities to help deal with the pandemic, and had to keep up with information that was changing from day to day.
“There was a sense of responsibility for patients and for our employees that we get it right, and do our best to get it as right as we could, to mitigate the risks enough so that everyone was safe here,” she explains.
Julie had always been drawn to the medical field, and chose nursing because she could explore a variety of specialties. She discovered Occupational Health Nursing in 2010 and knew she had found her niche. She came to Bethany Children’s in 2018, and while touring the hospital fell in love with the staff, patients and the “wonderful energy” she felt.
Today, her favorite thing about her job is her fellow employees and their focus on living the hospital’s mission every day. During the pandemic, hospital staff has relied on Julie for support, and have returned the love. “She has taken on difficult tasks throughout the pandemic with such grace and compassion. Julie has been a blessing during these times! She is amazing!”
She recently received the 2021 Peer-to-Peer Core Value Award for Service. “It is truly humbling. It has been a hard year for all of us,” Brooks said. “I have been a witness to many of our employees’ struggles this last year, but our employees are so resilient and have remained focused on the kids and our mission during all of this craziness. I’m so glad I could help support them in any small way!”
Fun Facts:
You might not know: “I met my husband when I took care of his mom in the hospital. After she was discharged, he came back up and asked me out. I said yes. We’ve been married 10 years this year.”
First Job: “Subway Sandwich Artist. I make a mean Italian BMT!”
Favorite way to spend free time: “Reading and being silly with my daughters.”
Favorite movie or TV show: “I don’t watch a lot of TV these days so it would probably be my daughter’s favorite show, Bluey.”
Dream weekend: “Any weekend away with my husband and kids. Preferably at a beach!”