'Everyone seems to know Rose': Longtime medical assistant 'Mama Rose' considers retirement
After working the same job for nearly 51 years, senior medical assistant “Mama Rose” Campbell admits she has considered retiring, but she “hasn’t got a date” in mind.
“I love my patients,” explained Rose, who works for Drs. Alan Smith and Amy Burgett at Savannah ObGyn. “I try to be attentive and make sure everything is ok. Pregnant ladies are a joy to be around.”
Apparently, the feeling is mutual for Rose’s employers and the patients who see the physicians. Dr. Smith remembers delivering a baby for one of Rose’s fans who is now a nurse at Memorial Health University Center.
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“(The mom-to-be) thought she should see someone (at Memorial) since I don’t deliver there anymore,” Dr. Smith said. “She came back to us at 20 weeks to continue here, but not because of me, mind you. She said, 'They don’t have a Miss Rose (at Memorial).'
“I tell everyone (Mama Rose) is either kin or grew up around the corner from everybody in town,” he added. “Everyone seems to know Rose.”
Rose graduated from the medical assisting program at Savannah Tech in the summer of 1970 and maintains a close connection to the school. (The Rose Campbell Award of Excellence in Medical Assisting is awarded each year during the pinning luncheon. Among other criteria, the award is presented to a medical assisting student who “has demonstrated knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that will stand out in the work environment.")
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Rose also is a member of Savannah Tech’s Medical Assisting Advisory Board and serves as a mentor for the Medical Assisting Student Externship Program at the school.
Dr. John Dekle hired Rose in January 1971 shortly after he joined a local ob/gyn practice that included Drs. John Angell and Darnell Brawner. “I recruited Miss Rose when she was 22,” Dr. Dekle said, adding that he soon considered her a part of his family.
“I would no more forget her birthday or Christmas than I would one of my children. I just don’t know of anyone who is more reliable than Rose.”
Back in those early days, Dr. Dekle took Rose under his wing and told her, ‘I’ll teach you everything you need to know,” which meant taking blood pressure, urinalysis, hemoglobin – everything, Rose recalled.
As the years went by, Dr. Dekle decided to go in with Dr. Larry Odum who, after a few years, left to complete a fellowship, Rose said.
“Dr. Dekle was by himself when Jackie Newlin and Dr. Smith joined him,” she said.
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After 35 years, Dr. Dekle retired. “He told me that even though he was retiring that I would always have a place in the office and Dr. Smith made sure it happened.”
During all his years of working with Rose, Dr. Dekle has noticed two qualities about her: “If a patient came in for an exam, they’d say ‘where’s Rose?’ If she was off, they’d say, ‘I’m rescheduling” and it wasn’t a one-time thing.
"The second thing is, if there is ever a dispute and you’re on one side and Rose is on the other, you’re probably wrong. That is the God’s truth. She is a pure, guileless person.”
Polly Powers Stramm is a contributing lifestyles columnist. Contact Polly at 912-657-3877 or pollparrot@aol.com. See more columns by her at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA medical assistant Rose Campbell leaves community impact
