Nurse’s family has worked over 180 collective years at UC Davis Health

Priscilla Catingub grew up peeking inside her parents’ drawer of UC Davis Health memorabilia. Back when employees were allowed to keep their expired badges, her parents stored them as keepsakes. Over the years, the hospital system awarded them jewel-encrusted pins to mark their employment anniversaries and milestones.

For Manuel Saldana, Priscilla’s father, that meant diamonds. When he retired, he had been with UC Davis for 42 years.

Saldana started as a radiology patient transporter in 1975. When he retired in 2017, he was a senior construction administrative supervisor and had worked in various roles between the two, mostly in Plant Operations and Maintenance (PO&M).

Shortly after starting his career at UC Davis Health, he met his future wife, Janet. Her journey with UC Davis Health began in 1980 as an analyst, before she retired in 2016 as the orthopedic practice manager at the Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center.

“It was fun to see their jobs change,” said Priscilla. “When I was younger, I didn’t really understand that represented opportunities that were presented to them throughout their tenure here.”

Beginning her own health care journey

She would soon learn firsthand what that was like. Priscilla’s high school offered a course that allowed her to work full time as a patient transporter. So she got a worker’s permit and began her own UC Davis Health journey in 2000. Since then, she’s served as a hospital unit service coordinator, an analyst, a diabetes educator and a licensed vocational nurse (LVN). Today, she’s an Assistant Nurse Manager II helping lead the infusion wing of the new Folsom Medical Care Clinic (MCC).

“I understand what it's like to be at the front desk. I understand what it's like to be at the bedside. I have perspectives working on the IT side and now in leadership,” said Priscilla. “That gives me an opportunity to advocate for my frontline staff in a way that's informed and authentic.”

All in the family

But the family tradition doesn’t end there. Priscilla’s brother Angelo Saldana also works in PO&M. Her sister-in-law Myrna Saldana works in Facilities Planning and Development. Her uncle worked on the UC Davis campus. And in 2010, Priscilla met her husband, an attending physician who now owns his own practice.

Priscilla did the math: that’s over 180 years of UC Davis employment from her family alone.

There may be more in the future. Of Priscilla’s seven children, her eldest daughter is studying for the MCATs, and her eldest son just graduated from UCLA. Some of her kids attended the Folsom MCC ribbon-cutting celebration last summer. The family tradition is holding strong.