Since the mid-1980s, tens of thousands of hospitalized patients at UT Southwestern have likely had their medications handled under the watchful eyes and meticulous disposition of Lipcy Varkey.

“I started working at St. Paul University Hospital as a Pharmacy Courier in 1984 and after a few months became a Pharmacy Technician,” she says. “The best part of my job is working with people and making sure the medications are sent to our patients in a timely manner.”

Over the past 35 years – first at the former St. Paul University Hospital and later at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital – Ms. Varkey has worked in many areas of Pharmacy Services, including the central pharmacy, IV/chemo room, operating room pharmacy, narcotic vault, and purchasing. The past several years she worked as a Central Pharmacy Technician Coordinator and is now a Controlled Substances Pharmacy Technician Coordinator. 

“I am proud to be a part of a highly regarded institution and Pharmacy Services,” Ms. Varkey says. “UT Southwestern has given me the opportunity to grow in my career and advance in different roles.”

Described by co-workers as dependable, friendly, helpful, and respectful to others, Ms. Varkey began her health care career in a vastly different workplace.

“When I started, Pharmacy Services had limited technology and resources,” she recalls. “I still remember transferring total parenteral nutrition solutions using a vacuum pump and manually crediting medications. Now Pharmacy Services is completely different, with all new technologies.”

Ms. Varkey, who has a degree in zoology from the University of Kerala in India, loves to travel. She has visited several countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

She and her husband, Samuel, have been married for 37 years. They have three adult children, all born at St. Paul. “My children – Rachel, Rebecca, and Matthew – all volunteered at St. Paul, and both my daughters chose careers in the medical field, one as a pharmacist and one who graduated from medical school in May,” Ms. Varkey says.

In her free time, she likes to read and is involved with her church and family. Also this year, she took on yet another important role – “I became a grandmother!”