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 The Voice of HWLS
Sue Francis
Written by: Ashley Fisher
Anyone who has called Holzer Weight Loss Solutions has probably been
greeted by a friendly, “Holzer Weight Loss Solutions, this is Sue.” That
calm polite voice belongs to Sue Francis, a long time employee of
Holzer.
Sue started out in 1962 creating hospital bills for Holzer Hospital
which was on First Avenue/Cedar Street at that time. That was before
computers when everything was recorded by a cashier. She married her
husband and moved to Columbus in 1964 and worked in Children’s
Hospital’s finance department. When Vietnam War started and her husband
was shipped off to Korea, Sue moved back to Gallipolis to be close to
her family. She started working for Medical Center Hospital this time
doing admissions and billing, and continued to do so in 1969 when Holzer
Hospital and the Medical Center Hospital merged. She showed her hard
work ethic as she continued to work up until days before her son was
born in November of that year. “I would help out as needed when my son
was 9 months old. About two nights a week for 4-5 hours, just to help
them stay caught up with billing,” Sue said. She came back part time in
September 1972 still in the finance department but also helping out in
the Emergency Department as a registration clerk. Four years later she
was back to work full time at Holzer.
In 2001, Holzer Center for Comprehensive Weight Loss (now Holzer Weight
Loss Solutions, HWLS) opened with a position available for
Administrative Assistant. “In 2002 I started working with the Weight
Loss Department and have loved every minute of it. I wished I would have
started working for them sooner.”
When asked what she liked most about working for HWLS she quickly
replied, “The patients! The one-on-one time from the time I schedule
their appointment till now.” Sue said she likes how it is a smaller
center so personal time is offered to each patient. She added that the
surgeons are excellent and she has enjoyed working with them as well.
Sue couldn’t narrow down her fondest memories to one, but did say, “The
patients become my friends and each one is a memory. They probably don’t
know that they always do something for me. It is hard to put into
words.”
“If someone stopped me on the street and asked for advice on being
overweight, I would tell them that surgery is a personal decision, but
if you have already considered having a weight loss surgery then you
need to make the call to HWLS. I’m not there to answer the phone anymore
but the staff is there to help you through the whole process.”
Anyone who knows Sue knows she is a hard worker. When she told me of her
retirement I wondered how she would do, since she is a lady who likes to
stay busy. I was right because January 11th, Sue was scheduled to come
back to HWLS as a volunteer! Chances are if you call HWLS you may still
hear that personable polite voice that every weight loss patient is so
familiar with.
Thank you Sue, for years of service and the positive attitude you bring!
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