Donna Whitaker has a neighbor and fellow employee to thank for introducing her to Texas Health.
The Food & Nutrition Services hostess at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound was working in her yard at home when neighbor Irma Chavez stopped to chat.
“I mentioned that I was looking for a job,” Whitaker said. “Irma said she really liked hers and was heading over there. So, she told me to hop in and drove me to the hospital.”
Chavez, a cook, introduced her to Otis Baker, director of Food & Nutrition Services, and the next thing Whitaker knew, she was working as a catering associate. After only six months, she was promoted to team lead.
“I did that for about two years and loved it, but I realized that to do that job well was taking a lot out of me,” Whitaker said.
She moved to her current position, taking patients’ meal orders.
“She doesn’t just take their orders, though,” said Kristen Garrett, M.S., R.D., L.D., CNSC, the hospital’s manager of Clinical Nutrition and Room Service. “She becomes a friend to patients and provides a sense of humor and compassion when patients need it most. The way she’s able to connect with patients in just a few minutes – and over the phone – is amazing. I never thought sales work experience would be something I would consider when hiring a room service call center employee, but now I will!”
Learn more about Whitaker in her own words:
What did you want to be as a kid, and how did you ultimately choose your career?
I originally wanted to work in fashion design and studied it in college. But then I found out how few jobs there were in that field and instead gravitated toward sales. I worked in outside sales for my whole career and even owned my own company in Arizona. Eventually, I shut down the company, and my husband and I moved to Dallas.
What’s your favorite part of the job, and what is the biggest challenge?
I love talking to people. I’m still a salesperson at heart, so I really enjoy the banter. When you’re not well and there’s not much in your control, you can get a little cranky. So, if I can make their day a little bit better, joke with them a little bit and maybe make them forget that they’re getting an IV or a blood draw, I feel like I’m helping in that way.
There are some people who will challenge you to be kind, but you have to take into account that they’re hurting and they’re not where they choose to be. I try my best to work with them. It can also be a challenge to work around the dietary restrictions for people who want things they cannot have.
What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
I sold everything from beauty supplies to liquor (to restaurants and bars), so I’ve traveled a fair bit. My husband and I have been all over Europe and Mexico and to a lot of places in the United States. I haven’t been everywhere I wanted to go, but through my sales career I worked with people living in other areas, like Asia. It was lovely to speak to people there and cultivate relationships with them. You learn how small the world is and how we all want the same things out of life.
What are some of the ways your department has improved efficiency or care?
We’re constantly working at improving, and our department is always a work in progress. One thing our leaders have been doing is posting customer comments, good or bad, which I find really helpful.
What’s your go-to tip for handling stress?
I think it’s my sales background, but I don’t let things get to me. We work in a hospital, and that means we work with people under stress – patients, visitors and employees. You can’t take it personally.
