It was May of 1975 when Mary Fladoos started her nursing career on the Tucson Medical Center Newborn Intensive Care Unit. She wasn’t alone – 11 nurses started working in the NICU that day.

“That was before we had educators, before we had managers, before we had clinical nurse leaders,” Fladoos, RN Case Manager of the NICU, said. “In the olden days, we did it all ourselves. It was so fun.”

Fast forward 50 years, Fladoos is still here, working on the same unit – a milestone she takes great pride in.

“I am on the same unit I started on. I love the people I work with,” she said. “This unit is truly a family. I mean, the people work so well together here. You’re never alone. There’s always some expertise that you need right next door. And the families we work with are precious.”

Her coworkers refer to her as “Queen of the NICU” and for good reason.

“Mary will tell you that she has been in basically every role in this unit,” said Betsy Harden, Manager of Patient Care Services on the NICU. “She has seen the technology evolve, the standards of care change and the faces of her team change. What hasn’t changed is her dedication and genuine care for the patients and their families.”

During her time at TMC, Mary earned her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree from St. Francis University through the help of TMC’s tuition reimbursement program. “One of the many perks of TMC,” she said.

Part of Mary’s job is discharge planning and teaching families what to do when they take their babies home.

“Mary first started as a bedside nurse and she ended up in the one role that is probably the most important – supporting babies in their transition from being a sick neonate to a healthy baby moving home and into the community,” Harden said.

Mary has been responsible for working with providers and nurses both in-house and in the community to develop discharge education for families of fragile patients, including a comprehensive home tracheostomy care program. She also instituted the practice of bringing all of the disciplines together weekly to collaborate on planning for a safe and timely discharge.

“The families are so appreciative of what we do because they have no idea how they are going to manage and then we just magically appear,” she laughed. “They have such needs that they never knew existed and you’re here to help them through it.”

Looking back, Mary says she doesn’t have any bad memories at TMC. She attributes that to being where she truly belongs.

“I was lots of different things before I became a nurse,” she said. “Then I came here because it was what I truly wanted. I knew in my heart that there wasn’t anything better.”

Mary is planning to retire at the end of the year, after receiving her 50-year pin at the 2025 Service Pin Ceremony.

She offers the following advice to new nurses: “Be proud of what you have achieved and don’t be afraid to explore new options that arise on your own unit. Take advantage of what TMC has to offer for your career and if you get bored with your job, look around in your own unit, in your own hospital and try something different. Just don’t give up and go somewhere else, because we have everything you could possibly want.”

“We truly appreciate having her wisdom, dedication and amazing perspective,” Harden said.