01/22/2026
Slow, relaxing mornings with a fresh cup of coffee await Kathy Wonder.
After 39 years spent inside operating rooms, surrounded by the rhythm of surgical teams and the ever-changing health care environment, the enterprise coordinator for Perioperative Services is preparing to step into something entirely new: retirement. It’s a transition she once felt nervous about.
“At first, I was pretty nervous,” she admits. “For the last 39 years, I have been going to work every single day. I thought, ‘Wow, what am I going to do getting up every day besides enjoying my cup of coffee without having to go to work?”
Instead of days spent in scrubs, Kathy will be rolling up her sleeves, working around her house, tending to her garden, and helping take care of grandchildren.
Kathy first began at UNMC in the University Tower operating room, and from the very beginning, she knew she was exactly where she belonged.
“Even in nursing school, I knew I wanted to work in the operating room,” she says. “It was just always something I loved.”
Her path wound through general surgery, vascular surgery, and cardiac surgery, where she became the cardiac service coordinator — a role she once dreamed of. She later served as a first assistant for vascular surgeries, heart transplants, lung transplants, and countless organ retrievals. Those retrieval trips left a deep impression on her.
“On the way out, I would find myself praying for the family that was donating,” she remembers. “And then on the way back, I was praying for the transplant recipient.”
Reflecting on her career, Kathy says that two accomplishments come to mind: helping open the Integrated Services Center and being a first assistant. She’s witnessed surgical care transform through a variety of roles over the years.
“The developments in techniques, the move to more minimally invasive procedures and more robotic surgeries,” she says.
And she leaves with one final message, “I would like to thank all the people that I’ve met and that have supported me through the years, and just touched my life and made it better. And last, but not least, my husband, John, of 46 years, who was always there for me when I worked a lot of odd work hours being on call.”
Her colleagues would say the same about her.
“Successful organizations have long-term employees who contribute tireless years of service, forming great relationships with countless people over their career. Kathy fits nicely into this category,” says Mark Emodi, director, Integrated Service Center. “She has touched many lives over the years, forming lasting friendships and helping us achieve many accomplishments. Her expertise, time, and dedication have been appreciated and will be missed.”
As Kathy prepares to embrace life’s next change of retirement starting Feb. 2, she’s ready to fill her cup full of new experiences with whatever is brewing next.
Thank you, Kathy, for your decades of extraordinary care!
