A LIFE OF BALANCE 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 Images 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 shift during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Such has been the case for Suzanne P Associate Administrator at Walker Baptist ‘Medical Genter 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 ran 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 ““Y'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 jab and my home life. And for me, it can be almost impossible at times because Walker Baptist is open necessarily end when I leave for the day. If 7, so my days don't there’s an issue in the night at the hospital, we 44 | 78 Magazine! pick up the phone and help each other. What I P'm with my family. If 'm having a rough day xd to learn is that I have to be present when. atwork, [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 n, who is a have an amazing husband, Kev | wildlife biologist with the state,” she says. “We Ihave two sons, Brady and Ryan; our daughter in-law, Anna; the cutest litle grandbaby gil and Landon Nix, who is like a son to us Both Ry; is at Bevill and Landon is at Marion Military neer at MeGehee Engineering here in Jasper.” id Landon are in college; Ryan Institute. Brady is an en 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 eventfil, even in her downtime. Whether it’s being an active member of the community 0: taking on a do-it-yourself home improvement activity, she is always keeping busy “Twatch a lot of HGTV in my spare time,” Suzanne laughs, “When I can, [love to do little home improvement projects. I've painted just about everything in my house but the dos Suzanne likes to stay up-to-date with everything going on in her community as well, and Jasper thrives because of ha 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 ‘small part in making their litle corner of the world that mach more special But Suzanne doesn’t want this light t0 be hidden under a bushel. “When physicians come to usually Kind of fall in ‘Wow! This is the best kept secret,” Suzanne Jasper, they ove with it and offen say, says. “The thing is, I don’t want Jasper to be a secret, We love this community and we believe init” 78 46 | 78 Magazine