‘I thank EIRMC for the life it gave me.’ Longest tenured hospital employee retires at 76

IDAHO FALLS — A 76-year-old Idaho Falls female precocious retired from Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center bringing her 55-year profession to a close.

Keila Poulsen spent astir 23 years of her profession arsenic nan hematology and histology supervisor astatine EIRMC — though successful her past twelvemonth she was only nan hematology supervisor — retired June 14. She was nan longest tenured worker astatine EIRMC, arsenic good arsenic successful nan HCA Healthcare Mountain Division of 11 hospitals, according to EIRMC.

“That’s not needfully a extremity I changeable for,” Poulsen said astir being nan longest tenured EIRMC employee. “I conscionable wanted to support doing nan point I emotion doing astatine nan spot I emotion doing it pinch nan group I emotion being with. And then, 55 years flew by.”

Poulsen was 10 years aged erstwhile her mom bought her a microscope and her relative a chemistry set. Her mom turned 1 of their dad’s achromatic shirts into a laboratory overgarment and that’s erstwhile Poulsen fell successful emotion “with that concept.”

She didn’t cognize location was a occupation akin to what willing her arsenic a kid until she was a sophomore successful precocious school.

“I was successful nan counselors agency and recovered a trifold that had a woman connected nan beforehand successful a laboratory overgarment and a microscope and it said ‘Med Tech,'” Poulsen recalls. “That’s erstwhile I first knew location was specified a point arsenic an business for what I fell successful emotion with.”

Poulsen started her aesculapian profession arsenic a laboratory adjunct successful June 1969 astatine nan Idaho Falls LDS Hospital, which later became known arsenic Riverview Hospital. Poulsen’s employment was instantly transferred complete to EIRMC — and her tenure remained — erstwhile it opened its doors successful 1986.

Over nan years while Poulsen served arsenic nan hematology supervisor astatine EIRMC, she was responsible to making judge nan instrumentation was current, that she understood nan latest instrumentation and was capable to thatch it to her staff.

One of her superior loves was humor cells and being capable to place those humor cells and nan different illness states associated pinch it.

“It’s for illustration a puzzle. You spot nan cell. You spot that it’s abnormal, and past you commencement moving done trying to determine what nan connection is from that compartment truthful you tin get that connection to nan expert truthful he knows what to do for nan patient,” Poulsen explained.

Falling successful emotion pinch hematology is what Poulsen said provided her pinch opportunities to connection workshops crossed nan nation, beryllium nan co-author and contributor of respective books and thatch astatine Brigham Young University for 40 years.

She would return her 2 week picnic and spell thatch astatine nan campus.

“As I evolved done nan 55 years, hematology changed constantly, almost daily,” she mentioned. “The knowledge arsenic to what causes nan various illness states became clearer and anytime you understand thing more, past it becomes much nosy and you want to thatch group truthful possibly they tin person arsenic overmuch fun. That’s what I enjoyed pinch my unit is we each loved to learn.”

Although Poulsen is going to miss those she worked with, she takes pinch her countless memories and lessons learned.

She learned that cipher tin impact you without your permission, arsenic good arsenic nan value of being humble, kind, striving to broaden your horizons, learn, turn and teach.

“I convey EIRMC for nan life it gave me,” Poulsen said. “It was specified a privilege and awesome opportunity.”