Two years ago, on April 9, 2021, Rafael Cantu was given a new lease on life when he received a double lung transplant.
Dr. Josette Armendariz-Batiste, Vice President, Regional Hospitals & System Chief Nurse Executive, who passed away on April 10, had a connection to this young man that is equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful.
When Rafael was transferred to Galveston from the Angleton Danbury Campus in preparation for his transplant, our administrator at ADC, Beth Reimschissel, called and asked Josette to look after him. Because he was so young and so sick, the ADC team was worried the outcome wouldn’t be good.
Every day that Josette was at work, she stopped by to see Rafael—to ensure both him and the worried ADC staff that he was in good hands. On the day he was transported to where he would receive his transplant, Josette walked with him to the helipad and was a constant source of reassurance.
Today Rafael is healthy. He and his wife are expecting their first child. As recently as a few weeks ago, Josette was asking Beth how he’s doing.
That is who Josette was—and how she will be remembered. Compassionate, giving, caring, devoted. And, honestly, the most selfless person I have ever known.
Josette passed away at John Sealy Hospital, where she was born and where she spent her entire career. A career that saw involvement in so many advancements at the hospital, as well as many awards and recognitions.
She was an inspiring and uplifting colleague and a cherished member of the UTMB family for more than 25 years, following in her late mother’s footsteps in devoting her life and her talents to this organization. Some of you may be surprised to hear
that she started working at UTMB in April of 1987, part-time as a TV rental clerk.
In a recent piece she wrote for this spot in the Heartbeat newsletter, Josette shared, “I have chosen to stay at UTMB my entire career because I see compassion, kindness, hard work and genuine love in the people who work here. Your dedication to
your patients, families and others is awe inspiring.”
Josette embodied what a true professional is… always calm amid chaos, whether it’s a storm, or a fire, frost or a pandemic … always willing to help … always willing to go the extra mile. Josette’s work was her life, in
the best sense, because her work reflected the very best of who she was.
She was a quiet but competent leader who was always thinking of ways to benefit others.
True to her compassionate nature and to her dedication to the miracles made possible by modern medicine, Josette was an organ donor. Her organ donation will touch 75 lives—some recipients will have their lives saved and others will have their quality of life improved.
People like Rafael Cantu are living, breathing proof of the miracle of organ donation, and Josette’s death just a day after Rafael’s two-year transplant anniversary seems like her compassion and dedication to patient care have come full circle.
She continues to save and enrich lives even after her own life on this planet has ended.
Josette will be forever missed and remembered. Even in our grief, all of her colleagues here in the Health System can take joy in knowing that she touched so many lives and continues to do so and that she left the world a better, brighter place than she found it.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gulshan Sharma
Chief Medical & Clinical Innovation Officer
"I have chosen to stay at UTMB my entire career because I see compassion, kindness, hard work and genuine love in the people who work here. Your dedication to your patients, families and others is awe inspiring."