Cardiac sonographer Sue Hill has poured her heart into her job with the Heart and Vascular Institute. After 31 years, she retired from North Mississippi Medical Center on Dec. 17.

Hill grew up in Ionia, Michigan, and moved to Mississippi in 1983. After working in a factory for several years, she joined the NMMC staff in July 1990 as an EKG technician. Once she had completed the required five years of related work experience, she trained to become a cardiac sonographer. She became a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer for adults in 1998 and for pediatrics in 1999.

In addition to conducting studies at the main hospital and Women’s Hospital, for many years Hill worked alongside the pediatric cardiologists from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital at their Tupelo clinic. Once the Children’s of Mississippi Specialty Clinic opened in Tupelo, she began performing pediatric echo studies there.

“I appreciate the opportunity to work at NMMC, as well as the people who hired me to train as a cardiac sonographer,” Hill said. While much has changed over her 31-year career, she says the patients’ well-being has always remained her focus. Producing quality work is important because, “the doctor only sees the pictures we give him,” she said. “I still see this as an awesome job.”

While Hill has retired from NMMC, she hasn’t slowed down much—that’s because she has joined the Children’s of Mississippi staff full time. Her new role is limited to the clinic setting, so she’ll be able to reclaim her nights and weekends without taking call as she did for 26 years.

Hill has a son, Dustin Whitmon, and three daughters who followed her footsteps into medical fields: Chasity Roberts, who works in NMMC’s Health Information Services; Christy Higginbotham, a clinic nurse; and Jonie Hall, who works with dialysis patients; as well as 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her husband, Johnny, passed away in 2012.