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Get to Know our Staff: Valory Hall, General Counsel

Get to Know our Staff: Valory Hall, General Counsel

by | Jul 15, 2024 | Centennial

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children? 
I am a contract administrator.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work? 
I work on our contracts, which can involve anything from handling a contract for a hosted special event to surgical equipment for our operating rooms. I also educate new staff on the contracting process by training them on our contract management system called Meditract. I love that I get to have contact with such a broad range of Scottish Rite staff daily.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? 
My first job was at a t-shirt shop in high school, which I loved! We made all of the team jerseys for the city and local YMCA. It was always busy, required organization and attention to detail, which has served me well in paralegal work over the years and into the work I do at Scottish Rite today.

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite? 
The thing I love most about working at Scottish Rite is being able to see the precious patients and their families as I walk around the hospital. It makes me happy to know that some of the projects I work on could potentially have a positive impact on patients. I love Scottish Rite’s mission and am happy to play a small part in it!

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know? 
The General Counsel team has a lot more than just contracts on our plate. We also work on Scottish Rite’s:

  • Policies
  • Compliance
  • Employee benefits
  • Insurance
  • Risk management 
  • Oil and gas
  • Donated properties and estates 

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? 
I lived in Los Angeles for a few years, and there is never a dull moment in that city. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the U.S. where you can go from ocean, to desert, to mountains and to the urban sprawl all within a few hours. There are so many breathtaking views in the Los Angeles area. My all-time favorites views are of the Pacific Ocean, as you drive out of the Malibu Canyon and the twinkly night time view of downtown Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? 
I’m a big baseball fan. I love the Texas Rangers, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are a close second in my heart. I also enjoy playing all types of cards and board games. One of my favorite things is hosting a game night with family and friends.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 
I would go back to the Roaring 20s. The clothes, cars, literature and music of that era are fascinating to me.

What’s one fun fact about yourself? 
I have a competitive streak and love to play in local dart leagues.

Get to Know our Staff: Philip Pitt, Prosthetics & Orthotics

Get to Know our Staff: Philip Pitt, Prosthetics & Orthotics

by | Jul 9, 2024 | Prosthetics & Orthotics

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children? My job at Scottish Rite for Children is as an orthotics and prosthetics technician.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work? On a daily basis, I fabricate all types of prosthetic and orthotic devices. I also see patients for repairs of their devices as needed and manage an inventory of supplies used for fabrication.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? My first job was a housekeeper at a summer camp in the mountains. After that, I worked at a hospital in Southern California in the orthotic and prosthetics department for seven years before ultimately relocating to Dallas to work at Scottish Rite.

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite? The thing I enjoy the most about Scottish Rite is being able to help provide great care and devices for the children that come through the organization. I also think participating in the 2023 Amputee Ski trip to see the work we do in action was an awesome experience.

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know? We have a building next to the parking garage where all our prostheses are fabricated. 

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? The most interesting place I have visited is a tie between London, England, during a trip to Europe and Vancouver, British Columbia.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? My favorite sport to watch is baseball.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? If time travel was a thing, I would go back to any time in the 90s.

What’s one fun fact about yourself? A fun fact about me is that I am a certified scuba diver.

Get to Know our Staff: Jaclyn Valeriano, Empower

Get to Know our Staff: Jaclyn Valeriano, Empower

by | Jul 2, 2024 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children?
I am a trainer for our electronic health records system, Epic, for the ambulatory care and outpatient staff.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
My role at Scottish Rite is to provide new hire Epic ambulatory care training to our outpatient nurses and ancillary staff. Along with new hire training, I create training materials to inform current Epic users of new builds or changes happening within the Epic system. Our training team also helps with the testing of Epic upgrades, working IT Help Desk tickets, maintaining our training environment and other tasks.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? 
My first job was as a file room attendant at a doctor’s office pulling paper files from a small room. I spent a great portion of my time re-alphabetizing that room before I left. 

My degree is in athletic training. I first started at Scottish Rite as a certified and licensed athletic trainer in our Sports Medicine department about 10 years ago! Admittedly, I was not looking to leave the clinical side, but here I am – and I’m loving it!

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite? 
I absolutely love that I have a workplace family. Not everywhere you go has a sense of community, and I feel extremely lucky and appreciative of our workplace environment.

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
I would imagine that most people think of me as an Epic trainer. What I think some may not know is that I am only certified to train certain parts within Epic. Each of us on the Empower side are certified in specific areas within Epic. For example, I am certified to train outpatient, but I am not certified to train HIM, Billing or Scheduling.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
Guanajuato, Mexico. I learned so much about Mexican history and Mexican independence from visiting Leon, Dolores, Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
I love to watch my niece and nephew play in whatever sport(s) they are participating in. When it comes to playing, I absolutely love playing volleyball. I first decided to try volleyball in seventh grade school athletics, and I have not stopped playing since!

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 
Selfishly, I would travel back to 1998. I was young, carefree and saw the world in a different, more innocent light. I would take advantage of the time I had with my grandparents and make more childhood memories with my family and friends.

What’s one fun fact about yourself? 
I asked my family, and they said to tell you all this: I was city champion in eighth grade track for High Jump and the 400-meter dash. Side note – I earned my 400-meter dash, but I won high jump by default because the other girl, who was good at the event, could not compete due to academic ineligibility.

Get to Know our Staff: Katie Sloma, Therapy Services

Get to Know our Staff: Katie Sloma, Therapy Services

by | Jun 10, 2024 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children?
I am a sports physical therapist helping athletes return to sports and performance.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
I provide patient care, stay up to date in research and current evidence-based practices and offer patient and parent education.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite?
My job at Scottish Rite was my first job after graduating physical therapy school. As a former softball player, I participated in PT several times throughout my career and wanted to be a part of the process in returning athletes to the sports they love to play.

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite?
I love being able to work with such an amazing team every day that are all a crucial part of helping kids return to activities they love.

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
I get to catch and throw with our baseball and softball players as they are returning to activity and love that I can still get the chance to do this.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
Scotland – I was able to go to St. Andrews golf course.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
Football is my favorite sport to watch, and softball is my favorite sport to play.

 If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
The 60s or 70s for their music!

What’s one fun fact about yourself?
I play in a sand volleyball league and a pickleball league.

Get to Know our Staff: Ryan Calococci, Orthotics & Prosthetics

Get to Know our Staff: Ryan Calococci, Orthotics & Prosthetics

by | May 29, 2024 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children?
I am an orthotics and prosthetics technician. It’s my job to make all the orthotic and prosthetic devices for our patients. I also repair broken or worn devices.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
I spend half my time fabricating prosthetic devices in the lab outside the main building, and the other half is spent in the Orthotics & Prosthetics main lab on the Lower Level. My duties include filling plaster models, thermoforming plastic and making orthotic devices. I also assist practitioners with repairs, and I run the seven-axis robot carver where we prepare our models for scoliosis braces. Our technician team fabricates thousands of orthotic and prosthetic devices every year!

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite?
For my first job, I was a cart attendant and grocery bagger at Kroger when I was 16. I like to say that Scottish Rite found me. I lost my job in 2008 when the economy collapsed, and I was desperate to find another job. I heard about an entry level position at the hospital through a friend of the family, and I applied. I quickly fell in love with work, the hospital’s mission, and amazing people here. Sixteen years later, and I have certifications in both orthotics and prosthetics. I love the work I do!

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite?
I love the culture here – everyone is friendly, helpful and devoted to the mission. I also really love the camps and trips the hospital organizes for our patients. I have had the honor and privilege of attending a few summer hand camps and, most recently, the Amputee Ski Trip. They are truly transformative for the kiddos! 

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
Every prosthetic device we make is completely custom-made and will only fit the child it’s made for. It also takes a few weeks from casting to fitting for each device.

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
I hiked a trail called Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park in Utah. It was the scariest thing I ever, did but the view at the end was worth it!

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
I don’t really play any team sports, but I do enjoy mountain biking and watching football. Go Cowboys!

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
I would go back to when the pyramids were being built just so I could see how they did it.

What’s one fun fact about yourself?
I have an identical twin brother.