[Ed. Note: Patty Manning, MD, has been part of Cincinnati Children’s since 1991 and has held leadership positions that include vice president of medical operations for Ambulatory Services; associate chief of staff, Ambulatory Services; co-division director, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics; founding director, Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders; and most recently, chief of staff. Patty will be retiring from the medical center on June 30. We asked her to reflect on her career here, and she graciously obliged.]

Where to start? This is the only employer I’ve ever known, the only “real” job I’ve ever had, and I can appreciate how few people get to say that. Cincinnati Children’s has taught and given me so very much.

When you never leave the place where you attended medical school and completed residency and fellowship, you run the risk of being viewed as a trainee for an extended period of time. I’m sure Dr. Farrell still looks at me sometimes as that wide-eyed intern who didn’t know how to dose Tylenol. But, you also get to reminisce about the Rainbow Room, the good old days on 2 South, the move into the B building (yes, the B building!), and the Tower, and the G building, and for my home division, the MOB (Medical Office Building). You can recall lugging around stacks of phone-book-sized paper charts, going to Pediatric Grand Rounds in the Research Auditorium, and taking care of patients on the top floor of the E building (aka “The Con”).

When I think of highlights and challenges, they are often the same, or closely linked. Starting an autism program, working on access, leading a division, being chief of staff through COVID, overseeing vaccination clinics, are both the most challenging, and most rewarding things I’ve had the privilege to be a part of here at Cincinnati Children’s.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work amongst colleagues in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics who care so deeply about the population of children and adults with developmental disabilities. I love the shared care model that is at the core of Developmental Pediatrics, and my favorite clinical memories are being part of a diagnostic multidisciplinary team.

I’m sure that being chief of staff during a pandemic is not something I would have wished for (in a million years), but being part of a team of folks that directed our operational response to COVID is an experience I’ll never forget. I gained a deep appreciation for the many parts of this organization that work tirelessly, behind the scenes, to keep things going, even during a pandemic. I had the privilege of saying “Good Morning!” to so many of you through those morning census emails, and having so many of you respond back with words of support and encouragement—that meant everything to me at an incredibly stressful time.

What has meant the most? Working with patients and their families, seeing my patients grow up, going through trials and tribulations, celebrating successes, and seeing families grow with their children. I have learned more from my patients and their families than I can possibly measure, and being part of their lives has meant the world to me.

Thanks, Cincinnati Children’s. I am grateful beyond words for everything you’ve given me.

—Patty