Susan Cox

When Susan Cox’s 88-year-old mother came to UT Southwestern to have her blood drawn, she was found to be difficult to “stick.” The event was, understandably, trying for Ms. Cox and her mother. But that’s when she learned that working at UTSW is like being surrounded by family – the lab’s supervisor gave Ms. Cox her personal cell phone number to call whenever her mother needed future blood draws.

The experience is among many that have reinforced her loyalty. And like in any strong family, Ms. Cox has stuck around – for 40 years. She says "the great people that I work with" are what keep her at UT Southwestern.

Five years ago, when she was honored for 35 years of service, she noted that she was looking forward to working at the new William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, under construction at the time. Now, as a Medical Technologist working there in Pathology’s core and special coagulation laboratories, she thoroughly enjoys the increased space and high-tech equipment. Her job is to perform laboratory testing of patient blood and body fluids. Co-workers would say she’s known as a good teacher – and someone who never stops learning.

Ms. Cox hopes that UT Southwestern will continue to make advancements in its next 75 years, perhaps becoming a place where blood draws are not even needed to make a diagnosis.

It’s this constant change that makes her job enjoyable: “Keeping up with medical and technological advances keeps things interesting,” she says.

She has found ways to combine her most beloved hobby – gardening – with her professional life. When she began her career at the former St. Paul University Hospital in 1977, she enjoyed eating lunch in the employee garden. Then in 2011, she held the laboratory’s first plant exchange; many employees still have their plants today. In the community, she has served as President of the Green Thumb Garden Club in Irving. At home, she has maintained her own tulip garden for 36 years, inspired by her time at St. Paul, where she enjoyed gazing over tulips as she rocked her firstborn child.

Family is her greatest joy. She says John, her husband of 44 years, “picked her up” on the beach at South Padre Island in 1969. They have two children – Aaron and Allison – and two grandchildren – Madison and Luke. In addition to gardening and spending time with her family, she enjoys sewing and watching classic movies.