OMHC welcomes new administrator

Maureen Sheldon, known to all her family and friends as “Mo,” is the new administrator at Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. She comes to Odessa by way of Glen Rose Medical Center in Glen Rose, Texas, where she was the chief operating officer for more than 11 years. Prior to that she was Director of Managed Care/Business Development at the Matagorda County Hospital District south of Houston for about 7.5 years.

Mo was raised in Sierra Vista, Ariz., where her father was stationed as a member of the military. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, then went to Lubbock, Texas to study at Texas Tech and obtain a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on health care.

She met her future husband, Don Sheldon, when she was 13, and they were both the children of fathers in the military who were stationed in Sierra Vista. Don graduated, got married soon after high school, and moved away.

They met each other again years later in Texas, where both were working at their respective careers. Don was again single and had custody of his daughter when he and Mo became reaquainted and began dating. Don’s daughter is now a young woman of 25, and he and Mo have added two more children to the family. Hannah, 13, and Paul, 9, attend the Odessa schools.

Mo says her first weeks on the job have been exciting because she enjoys getting to know the staff and residents of the hospital. She said she is impressed with the level of professionalism and the welcoming nature of the people she has met so far.

She is just as excited about getting to know more people in town. And she is looking forward to Deutsches Fest. Her mother is a native of Germany, who met her father while he was stationed overseas in the military. Mo says she spoke German before she spoke English, although her facility with the language has faded somewhat with disuse. She and her mother recently took a vacation to Germany for the first time in a very long while, where they were able to see many changes brought about since the wall separating the two parts of Germany came down in 1990.

Mo has heard about all of the preparations going on for Fest all over town, and she says she is anxious to experience Fest first hand. She will miss part of the preparation because she will have to be out of town part of next week. But she will be back by Saturday, the “big day” of Fest.

The Sheldons have purchased a home in Odessa on First Avenue with a large yard where young Paul can practice playing soccer, which he played competitively in Texas. Both children are said to be looking forward to the many extracurricular activities offered by the community and school system.