Diane Rosato, administrative associate for the UAB Division of Pediatric Surgery, will be retiring at the end of 2024 after 24 years with the division. Rosato has been the constant, dedicated presence keeping the division functioning smoothly and efficiently, and she looks back fondly at her time at UAB.

The start to 24 years at UAB

Rosato’s career journey began in 1979 at the no longer existing Baptist Medical Center Montclair. She started working in medical records, then worked her way up to payroll, then administration. But then her department - and job - got phased out. Her options were to go back to her entry level role and pay at Baptist Monclair, or look elsewhere. She applied for a role with UAB’s Division of Pediatric Surgery, and the rest is history.

She worked as an officer associate supporting the physicians, starting with Dr. William Hardin, then with Dr. Oliver Muensterer. In 2010, she became the program coordinator for the Pediatric Surgery Fellowship program. When the office manager for the division left, she applied and became the new administrative associate, and has been ever since.

She supports all the doctors, but mainly Mike Chen, M.D., MBA, the director of the division and surgeon-in-chief at Children’s of Alabama. She manages seven secretary receptionists and keeps the day to day operations of the division running smoothly.

In her role, she’s had to be a person who “figures out all the problems.” It’s led to some interesting days. She recalls a time when a doctor came from out of the country for an observership, and she was the one to make a Walmart run for towels and sheets. She set up an apartment the day before for him to stay in. At other times, Chen remembers finding Rosato vacuuming the office after work hours to ensure the office was presentable for in-person fellowship interviews.

“You do what you gotta do,” Rosato said.

The people made it the “best time”

When asked, Rosato says she doesn’t consider herself a “leader.” She does, however, embody the characteristics of one.

Rosato says she doesn’t ask anyone to do anything she wouldn’t want to do. That means at times, she has taken more responsibility so that her team doesn’t get overwhelmed. Chen says Rosato always goes the extra mile. Whenever the team was short-handed due to personnel transitions, Rosato always picked up the extra work without any complaints.

“I try to manage everybody and treat them the way they should be treated - with respect,” Rosato said. “Everybody comes in and works hard every day and tries to do the best they can, and they should be acknowledged for that and thanked for that.”

Rosato admits she won’t miss listening to her alarm clock ring at 5:00 in the morning anymore. But at the same time, she says she just might miss her job more than she thinks she will.

From the office potlucks and parties, to seeing the doctors with face paint on, to watching fellows come for training and then become doctors in other parts of the county, she says the people made her time at UAB the “best time.” Rosato jokes that sometimes she wishes she could’ve spent her entire career with the Division of Pediatric Surgery - but then she would have never met her husband, who also worked at Baptist Montclair. (He and their friends have been excited for her to join them in retirement.)

When asked about her longevity in the division, she said she never in the past two decades had a desire to apply anywhere else.

“I felt like I had the best job, so why did I need to look for another one?” Rosato said.

“Maybe ‘one day’ is finally here”

Rosato is looking forward to the free time in retirement to read and spend time with her friends, her two children, and her family members out of town who she hasn’t seen in many years.

Rosato’s faith is important to her, and she hopes to attend mass every day at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Leeds - a life-long dream she’s had - and take advantage of free weekdays to volunteer with the church.

She also wants to see famous and quirky landmarks across Alabama - from Cheaha State Park, to the Hellen Keller Birthplace in Tuscumbia, to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville.

“There are a lot of things I’ve thought about as I’ve gotten older that I’d like to do one day,” she said. “And maybe, one day is finally here.”