From Patient Family to Scottish Rite Employees

From Patient Family to Scottish Rite Employees

by | Jan 9, 2025 | Spotlight

Hear from staff member Norma Losolla on why Scottish Rite is so much more than a place of work for her and her family.

Hi, my name is Norma Losolla. I’m a radiology receptionist and scheduler. My sister Jennifer is a clinic tech in Ambulatory Care, and my mother-in-law Liliana is an environmental service assistant.

My son Matthew has spina bifida, a condition in which a condition that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly. When my son Matthew became a patient, I fell in love with the way Scottish Rite’s staff and nurses took care of my family. I always thought to myself that, one day, I was going to work here. My sister, Jennifer already worked here at this time.

Watch Matthew’s care journey above.

In 2020, I was laid off by my previous job. A Scottish Rite staff member reached out to check on me to see how we were doing, and I mentioned my situation to her. She encouraged me to apply for a position at the Dallas campus.

Thanks to her, I am now a proud Scottish Rite employee. After a year of working here, a position became available in Environmental Services. I told my mother-in-law to apply, because she was also looking for a new job. She was interested and is now also part of the Scottish Rite family!

My family was raised to help others, and we have always wanted to be a helping hand. To see the care that my son received personally showed me what an incredible place Scottish Rite is. Now my family and I get to give back to the doctors and organization as well as other patient families in our roles as Scottish Rite employees.

If there is one piece of advice that I can give others from this experience, then it’s that God doesn’t make mistakes. With God, all things are possible.

Lifetime Sports: Starting Good Habits for Young Athletes

Lifetime Sports: Starting Good Habits for Young Athletes

by | Jan 8, 2025 | Sports Medicine

Assistant Chief of Staff and pediatric orthopedic surgeon Philip L. Wilson, M.D., is dedicated to changing the game for young athletes. Research shows that children who specialize in a sport before the age of 14 are more likely to burn out, quit sports or experience long-term health issues.

Knowing how important physical activity is for wellness into adulthood, Wilson shares his expertise on lifetime sports. Read the following for how coaches and parents can keep young athletes engaged by diversifying their activities.

Download this as a PDF.

WHAT IS A LIFETIME SPORT?

A lifetime sport is an activity or sport that is enjoyable throughout your life. You can do these activities with a variety of people without being dependent on a team. It fits within any lifestyle, and you’re not forced to schedule around it.

 

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM CROSS-TRAINING?

It depends on what is motivating you. If you’re focused on cross-training to get better for your primary sport, you may not stick with the activity for a long time. If you’re participating in a wide variety of activities to promote general health and well-being, I think you’re more likely to continue.

 

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF LIFETIME SPORTS?

Hiking, tennis, golf, swimming, jogging, walking, pickleball and bicycling

 

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO ENCOURAGE THESE ACTIVITIES?
  • Leave time in the schedule for physical activities.
  • Ask your kids what they would like to do.
  • Lead by example. Show them that being active is a way of life.

 

WHAT COULD MOTIVATE KIDS TO BECOME LIFETIME ATHLETES?

You should create a variety of opportunities for them to develop an interest in being active. I think of activities like taking a walk in a nature preserve, taking advantage of your city’s jogging trails, trying out different playgrounds or checking out the local climbing gym. The options are endless when combining activities and the outdoors.

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

In my career, I’ve seen some athletes continue in their primary sport for a long time. I’ve also seen many give up for one reason or another. It’s a tough transition, going from being a dedicated athlete to “real life” activities. I believe that those who are well-rounded and have learned the long-term values of sport and fitness will be healthy adults. They will understand the values of maintaining an active lifestyle

 

Learn more about Scottish Rite for Children’s Bridge Program, designed to help young athletes optimize performance and reduce injury risk. 

Get to Know Our Staff: John Wilson, Family Services

Get to Know Our Staff: John Wilson, Family Services

by | Jan 2, 2025 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?    
I am a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) and a durable medical equipment (DME) coordinator. I coordinate families with specific medical equipment vendors to receive the appropriate preoperative or postoperative equipment for home use – such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, walkers and bathing or toileting equipment. With that, I built professional relations with the vendors across Texas, as well as nationwide.

During my first 19 years at Scottish Rite, I worked in the Occupational Therapy department. I would modify patient’s custom wheelchairs after a surgery, repair a broken or misaligned part and design a part for the wheelchair that was needed. I also helped with therapeutic exercises and worked with musculoskeletal engineers to assist in designing certain medical devices.

 

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
Being here for 25 years, I get to see a lot of my patients grow up. Many now have their own families! They transform from patients to being simply friends. I can build lasting relationships with families by assisting them when they need it only once, because I had the resources to help them.

 

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
Our mission is very special, and you cannot get this experience anywhere else. I’m part of a team where everyone shares the same goal, and each of us are a puzzle piece that strives to complete the whole picture.

I’m also a Scottish Rite Freemason, so Scottish Rite has always been part of my heart and the “Pearl of Texas”.

 

What made you choose a career in health care?
I got my first degree in welding technologies/structural design and metallurgy. I worked under government and military contracts, and most of these contracts were temporary. Every six to 18 months, I was working for a different company.

Thirty years ago, I happened to marry a physical therapist. She was the one who steered me into the OT side of the therapy world because of my background in equipment design. By then, I grew tired of the temporary assignments and contracts, so I took a job with Team Care Rehab as a rehab technician. At this time, I also worked in a sports medicine clinic and a work-hardening facility for other experiences.

I decided to apply to the brand-new COTA program at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. I was in the second class for this program, and my head instructor was the president of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association at the time. During my last internship in Mexia State School, I was appointed to the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy as a COTA student representative for one year. My ultimate goal was to become a therapist that specialized in equipment design and fabrication. So, the health care field just fell into my lap.

 

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
I enjoy being the only one that does what I do at Scottish Rite. I get to collaborate with many from other departments, such as social workers, clinic nurses, interpreters, physicians, orthopedics coordinators, among others.

 

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
A lot! I like to attend masonic charity events, air shows, renaissance fairs, Scottish and pirate festivals and Celtic concerts at pubs. I enjoy teaching martial arts and weaponry, as well as designing decks and collecting swords and blades.

I’m also one of the coordinators of the North Texas Irish Festival. These are just a few of the things!

 

Do you have any hidden talents?
Not much is hidden since I put them out there. I’m a drummer/percussionist and have been in three bands – two went on to get CDs and cassettes made with our songs on them. I have acted for TV, PSAs, internet media and films. I also have a side business of taking vintage and themed photography, which was my minor in college!

When I was in welding college, journalist Bob Phillips had me design and make his Channel 8 program branding iron that he would open the “Texas Country Reporter” show with.

 

Where are you from and what brought you to DFW?
I was born in Gainesville, Florida (go Gators)! My dad was recruited to be the mechanical and electrical engineer at Lennox Industries Headquarters, so we moved to Fort Worth when I was little.

 

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I’ve been to many places and loved “most” of them, like the United Kingdom and the Caribbean. Next year, I plan on going to Holland and Norway to sail the Fjords and experience the places of my Viking ancestors.

 

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Steak and sushi, because it’s the best of turf and the best of the surf.

 

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
“Braveheart”

What was the first concert you attended?
As a teenager and not with my parents, it was Heart and Santana together. As a kid and with my parents, I got to see all the country music legends.

 

Favorite DFW hidden gem?
Unfortunately, they no longer exist – the original Tipperary Inn Pub, Trinity Hall Pub, The Emerald Mist and the Celtic Quill.

 

If you were to have a movie based on your life, which actress/actor would you choose to play your character?
The current Keanu Reeves, not him from “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”.

 

What is some advice you would give your younger self OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
What I’ve always said and is my creed is to do everything you can before you can’t and experience everything you can before you can’t afford it.

Get to Know Our Staff: Lucy Ericson, Occupational Therapy

Get to Know Our Staff: Lucy Ericson, Occupational Therapy

by | Dec 23, 2024 | Hand Conditions, Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?    
I am an occupational therapist (OT), primarily with the hand therapy team.

 

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
I enjoy getting to work with children throughout all walks of life, from infancy to college age.

 

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
I was a volunteer at Scottish Rite in high school, and that’s when I first learned about all the cool things occupational therapists do. I love that our doors are open to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, and that the same high-quality care is given to every child and family.

 

What made you choose a career in health care?
I’ve always been interested in how I can help improve the lives of other people, so I began my career in public health and community health programming. I found out that occupational therapy was the perfect fit for me because of my desire to work more one-on-one with families. I never thought I would want to work in hand therapy specifically, but now I cannot imagine doing anything else.

 

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
Each day can look so different, and I love the variety it brings. In one day, I could work with a newborn with a brachial plexus birth injury, a child with cerebral palsy receiving care to improve the function of their arm, a hand fracture patient, a child with a flexor tendon repair or a child with arthrogryposis who is learning how to dress themself.

 

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
99% of my free time is spent with my two little girls and husband. I also love to garden and cook.

 

Do you have any hidden talents?
Within the OT team, I am the record-setting speed walker. I was eight months pregnant when I set the record!

 

Where are you from and what brought you to DFW?
I was born and raised in the D-FW area.

 

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
My bucket list includes visiting all the national parks. I am excited about going to Zion National Park this year.

 

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
It would be pizza and ice cream, because there is nothing better.

 

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
The Sandlot.

What was the first concert you attended?
NSYNC.

 

Favorite DFW hidden gem?
This isn’t a hidden gem, but I think everyone should support their local farmer’s market. Buying locally grown produce is better for our environment, supports small scale farmers and, of course, tastes better.

 

What is some advice you would give your younger self OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Stop stressing so much about the future and what is to come. Slow down to enjoy the chaos!

Lexie’s Journey of Unbreakable Bonds and Unstoppable Dreams

Lexie’s Journey of Unbreakable Bonds and Unstoppable Dreams

by | Dec 19, 2024 | Rheumatology, Scoliosis & Spine

At Scottish Rite for Children, every patient’s journey is as unique as they are. Each experience, story and moment shared at Scottish Rite creates an unbreakable bond between the patient and their clinical team. It’s not just about delivering world-class care — it’s about being a vital part of offering children hope that extends far beyond treatment.

21-year-old Lexie spent much of her youth receiving care from a multidisciplinary team of experts at Scottish Rite. At age 13, Lexie was diagnosed by an outside provider with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a common condition that causes joint swelling, stiffness and limited movement in children. Oligoarticular JIA affects four joints or less, and, for Lexie, her pain was in her left knee.

Lexie came to Scottish Rite at age 16 to see pediatric rheumatologist Julie M. Fuller, M.D., to alleviate her knee pain. After prescribing her the necessary medication, Lexie saw a major improvement to her once debilitating pain.

“My family had just moved to Oklahoma where there were no pediatric rheumatologists in the area,” says Lexie. “Dr. Fuller was highly recommended by other doctors in the area, and the care I received with Dr. Fuller’s team was unmatched.”

As she began preparing to go to college at Oklahoma State University, Lexie’s routine wellness exam resulted in a diagnosis of scoliosis and put a halt to her daily life.

“To be completely honest, this was a terrifying time in my life of not knowing what the next day would hold in regard to my health,” Lexie says. “I had big aspirations of graduating college with honors and applying to law school, but those dreams were threatened. I just decided to put my health in Dr. Sucato’s hands, and that turned out to be one of the best choices I ever made.”

Chief of Staff Daniel J. Sucato, M.D., M.S., prepared Lexie for surgery to correct the curve in her spine. Together, they coordinated the best time to schedule surgery, with an effort to minimize any disruptions to her school year. Though the recovery process was challenging, Lexie shares that her clinical team made an everlasting impact.

“The team was fully transparent with me and walked me through every step of my journey,” Lexie says. “They have prayed with me, learned my story and inspired me in more ways than they could possibly imagine. The people at Scottish Rite genuinely care.”

After her treatment, Lexie is focusing on a new chapter in her life. This December, she will graduate summa cum laude from Oklahoma State University and will begin applying to law schools. She also shined as her university’s homecoming queen this year.

“Being surrounded by such a positive care team that cheered me on throughout my journey was such a blessing,” Lexie says. “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about my time at Scottish Rite. Dr. Sucato’s team not only changed my life, but they gave me the chance to go out and live one.”