Deborah DeVeaux Spotlight

Deborah DeVeaux is a huge fan of puzzles –and I mean huge. When she’s on break her eyes are glued at a puzzle on a table and when she needs to give her eyes a break she does a puzzle on her iPad. At the end of this month, Deborah is retiring from Puget Sound Orthopaedics after being just shy of eighteen years with us and she may not realize how big of a piece she is in people’s lives around her. Deborah’s job title is hard to pinpoint because there’s simply nothing she hasn’t done or won’t do. Officially, Deborah is our Business Office Director which she describes as “support to whomever and whatever is needed.”

Deborah’s extensive history in healthcare has led her to experience many changes. “I am most impressed with the appointment system when it turned electronic. I was apprehensive at first but it is now the best thing since sliced bread.” Deborah was with us when we built and opened our new Lakewood office which she is very proud of: “it was an amazing sense of growth and pride knowing the amount of team effort that went into it.” Other proud moments for Deborah were helping PSO become number one throughout Proliance Surgeons with accounts receivable, co-founding the charity organization Helping Hands Northwest with our Executive Director April Gibson, and mentoring our current Director of Operations, Terry Jordan.

In her free time Deborah loves to go hiking, read, go to the theater for plays and movies, and listen to music. It is a regular sight to see her wearing her headphones in the break room and she loves all genres of music. Deborah also likes to travel with Ireland being her favorite place she has been, and her dream is to go to Wales and Scotland. With retirement coming up she is excited to be able to go on walks any time of day and spend time with her husband and grandchildren, and most of all spend time how she wants to.

Deborah is going to miss the people most when leaving PSO. “I get a sense of community every morning when I walk in here and that’s something you can’t replace. I’m going to miss this place so much, it’s been such a big part of my life.” She learned the importance of compromise, being able to see things from other points of view and how critical it can be to know that people just want to be listened to. Her advice to others before she moves on in the next stage of her life is “to treat everyone with kindness. Treat your work like home and don’t keep ideas for improvement to yourself.” Deborah embodied that idea; she was always vocal and searching for solutions and better processes.

Puget Sound Orthopaedics is going to miss her more than she could ever miss us. The absence of her presence, friendship, and mentorship will definitely be felt on the first business day of the new year. We are excited to see what she can do with all the time she will have for herself. Have a wonderful retirement, Deborah!