78 Photo Essay: Suzanne Pugh, Walker Baptist Medical Center Associate Administrator
Wife. Mother. Healthcare Worker. Walker Baptist’s Suzanne Pugh explains how she wears her many hats and keeps distinctions between them
Words by Nick Norris | Image by Al Blanton
The year 2020 has been a long one for everyone, but perhaps even longer for healthcare workers. Many have taken on extended hours and more demanding shifts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Such has been the case for Suzanne Pugh, Associate Administrator at Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper.
Although Suzanne has worked in one role or another at Walker Baptist for nearly 17 years, few have been as challenging as this one. Between her regular responsibilities of overseeing the daily operations of the hospital to finding creative ways for the facility to run more efficiently during a strange time, Suzanne’s job has become even more strenuous. Add to that the responsibilities of being a wife and mother, and you wonder how Suzanne finds the time to effectively wear all of these hats.
“I’m a super competitive person,” Suzanne explains. “I want to succeed, so early on in my career, it was sometimes hard to differentiate between my job and my home life. And for me, it can be almost impossible at times because Walker Baptist is open 24/7, so my days don’t necessarily end when I leave for the day. If there’s an issue in the night at the hospital, we pick up the phone and help each other. What I had to learn is that I have to be present when I’m with my family. If I’m having a rough day at work, I try to leave that part of my day at the office and not drag it around with me.”
Although Suzanne takes great pride in her work, she’s even more proud of her family. “I have an amazing husband, Kevin, who is a wildlife biologist with the state,” she says. “We have two sons, Brady and Ryan, our daughter-in-law, Anna, the cutest little grandbaby girl, and Landon Nix, who is like a son to us. Both Ryan and Landon are in college; Ryan is at Bevill and Landon is at Marion Military Institute. Brady is an engineer at McGehee Engineering here in Jasper.”
Between the responsibilities of raising two sons and holding a job in a demanding field, few people would likely have the energy to do much else. However, Suzanne’s days remain eventful, even in her downtime. Whether it’s being an active member of the community or taking on a do-it-yourself home improvement activity, she is always keeping busy.“I watch a lot of HGTV in my spare time,” Suzanne laughs. “When I can, I love to do little home improvement projects. I’ve painted just about everything in my house but the dog.”
Suzanne likes to stay up to date with everything going on in her community as well, and Jasper thrives because of hard-working, good-willed people like her. These are folks who, despite juggling many hats of their own, aren’t afraid to take on one more task and do a small part in making their little corner of the world that much more special.
But Suzanne doesn’t want this light to be hid under a bushel.
“When physicians come to visit Jasper, they usually kind of fall in love with it and often say, ‘Wow! This is the best kept secret,’” Suzanne says. “The thing is, I don’t want Jasper to be a secret. We love this community and we believe in it.” 78