LLUMC community relations director retires after 28 years of service
 Anita Rockwell-Hayden (center) poses for a picture with B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, and W. Augustus Cheatham, MSW. |
The Loma Linda University Medical Center office of public affairs held a farewell reception for Anita Rockwell-Hayden, director of community relations, on Monday, June 11. B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, president and CEO of LLUMC, and W. Augustus Cheatham, MSW, vice president for public affairs and marketing, LLUMC, presented Mrs. Rockwell-Hayden with a plaque recognizing her nearly 28 years of service.
She has worked for many years setting up interviews for various news media from the local area and around the world. Media interest in Loma Linda University Medical Center took flight in 1984 when Baby Fae received a baboon heart transplant. According to Mrs. Rockwell-Hayden, the office received 1,500 calls a day for several weeks following Baby Fae's transplant.
Mrs. Rockwell-Hayden began in community relations in 1973 as department secretary and then became assistant director in 1978. In 1997, she became acting director of the department and was named director in 1999. Since 1978, Mrs. Rockwell-Hayden has been quoted in many local and national newspapers, and interviewed by all of the local television news organizations from Los Angeles.