Knox retiring from health district after 42 years of service

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

Pam Knox is saying goodbye to the Fallbrook Regional Health District, where she has served 42 years in administrative roles. Friday, Nov. 19, will be her final day.

Knox remembers helping landscape – as a volunteer – the front of Fallbrook Hospital 60 years ago! She was a sophomore at Fallbrook High School and her goal was to leave Fallbrook and experience the world.

Her parents moved to Rainbow in 1956 and Knox went to Vallecitos Elementary School there. She graduated from Fallbrook High in 1963, at the age of 16.

"I thought Fallbrook was too slow and wanted adventure and to see the world," she recalled during an interview last week. "I moved north and came back in 1972, married and ready to settle down. This is really such a beautiful area. I was hired by the hospital and the rest is history."

Knox didn't know that the hospital and hospital district would play such a big role in her life.

"It's been like a family," she said. "It's been such a blessing and I've been able to form lifetime friendships."

Knox, who turned 75 in September, said she is moving to Texas to be with her only granddaughter, who is 10. Knox said her husband Jim's passing a year ago was a difficult time, and the district staff's support was essential.

"For years, people would ask why I didn't retire," she shared. "Why retire? I've felt more alive being able to work. I don't feel like I'm 75 and I want to have new experiences and travel."

"I've recently been able to see Alaska, Virginia and New York City, excited to see a Billy Joel concert in Madison Square Garden. It's time to think about what I want to do next."

The Fallbrook Healthcare District was formed in 1950 to create a hospital for the area and the hospital on Elder Street opened in 1960.

Knox was hired in the business office as a billing clerk – the hospital's youngest employee, she said – but the hospital was small, so she would also fill in as an admissions clerk. Later, she would also help scheduling surgeries, which meant she had to take classes at Palomar College to learn the lingo.

Knox took two breaks from the district when her sons, Matthew and Steven, were born in the 1980s.

After serving in human relations, she said that since 1989 she has served as administrative assistant to the CEO. The hospital had serious financial problems and the district wound up leasing the operation of the hospital before it eventually closed in 2015.

"Everyone was crushed," Knox said of the closure, "but things have gotten better. The district has endured and it's an exciting time now with the Wellness Center and other services."

She said it's been a pleasure to work with current CEO Rachel Mason. The feelings are mutual.

"I've had the opportunity to work with Pam since I came to the district in 2019," said Mason, "but, previous directors, the district's legal counsel, all the board members – past and present – and basically everyone who has ever had the pleasure to work with Pam, would likely all agree that Pam is a true public servant. Pam is friendly, efficient, kind and a consummate professional.

"The hospital, and now the district, have benefitted from having Pam serve in so many roles over the years," Mason added. "A few of Pam's greatest gifts involve her patience, her ability to grasp the important details from the minutia, her wit and humor, and mostly her grace. We will miss her on our team, but we are all so very excited to see her have the opportunity to enjoy her granddaughter, travels and new adventures."

The district is celebrating the retirement on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Community Health and Wellness Center.