Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai recently celebrated the retirement of its longest-serving clinical nurse, Patsi Saoud, RN.
Ms. Saoud joined Cedars of Lebanon — which merged with Mount Sinai to become Cedars-Sinai — in 1971. She spent 49 of her 50 years at the system practicing as a cardiac surgery nurse.
When Ms. Saoud joined Cedars-Sinai, the surgeons at its heart institute performed one to two heart surgeries a week. Now, the Smidt Heart Institute is a global leader in heart surgery, recording more than 30 procedures a week.
Ms. Saoud had a near perfect attendance record at work, which she credited in part to her colleagues.
"I love the camaraderie, I love the friends that I've made," she said in an Aug. 5 news release. "I've met many lifelong friends here. It's just a very warm, friendly place to work. I would recommend it to anyone."
Ms. Saoud's last day at Cedars-Sinai was July 30. In her retirement, she said she plans to take dance classes and astronomy and physics courses. After waking up before the sun rose for 50 years, Ms. Saoud said she also plans to enjoy life without an alarm clock.