Photo Courtesy of Harlingen Medical Center
Isabel Jimenez of San Benito has worked at Harlingen Medical Center for 15 years, three-fourths of the hospital’s existence.
HARLINGEN – Isabel Jimenez of San Benito has worked at Harlingen Medical Center for 15 years – three-fourths of the hospital’s existence – and as a pharmacy employee, she feels that she is an important part of the organization’s mission to serve its patients and community.
“Our mission statement for Harlingen Medical Center pretty much sums it up … to deliver compassionate, quality care to patients and better healthcare to communities,” Jimenez said.
“I really think that applies here in the hospital pharmacy,” she added. “I see it every day … whether it’s the nurses answering a code … or whether it’s the nurses calling us to get medications for our patients. I do believe we are applying that mission statement. I feel like we’re part of that team.”
Before coming to Harlingen Medical Center in 2007, Jimenez worked at Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital in San Benito, a small hospital where medication orders were filled manually.
“I came up here to Harlingen Medical and it was a larger hospital with more than 100 beds, so it was a big change for me,” she recalls. “And at Harlingen Medical Center, they had the newest automated machines with an automated process for nurses to pull the medications to give to the patients. So it’s been a learning experience, every day.”
As a pharmacy technician, she worked with the pharmacists to re-stock the automated medication-dispensing system.
“All day long, we would do medication fills at the machines all throughout the hospital,” she said. “There were certain times when they were re-stocked throughout the day, as each department had their own machine.”
A few years later, the hospital installed an advanced “Omnicell” medication dispensing system which has worked very well, she said.
In her role as a pharmacy technician, Jimenez also assisted pharmacists in preparing other medications that were not in the automated system, as well as IVs.
For the past 13 years, she has worked as a pharmacy buyer, making sure that the hospital has the medications needed by its patients.
During the COVID pandemic, the entire nation experienced supply chain issues, and if a certain medication wasn’t available from the hospital’s usual wholesaler, Jimenez and the pharmacy staff would find another compounding company or supplier to fill the gap.
“We have multiple sources to get mediations from, and that really helps, especially during the pandemic,” Isabel said.
“I work with a great bunch of people here,” she added. “My co-workers are a great help to me. And our Pharmacy Director, Mitchell Everett, helps us find other sources to get the medication. I thank everyone who works around me … it’s a team effort.”
Born and raised in San Benito, Jimenez is a graduate of San Benito High School. When she’s not working, she says she “takes life one day at a time” and enjoys it.
“I am looking forward to celebrating Harlingen Medical Center’s 20th anniversary in October,” she added. “That is so wonderful; just awesome.”
