Does this smiling face look familiar? If your baby was born at Lexington Medical Center since 2000, chances are she was part of your experience. This year, Debbie Jacques celebrates her 25th year at Lexington Medical Center. Debbie has been part of nearly 70,000 births as a birth certificate clerk at the hospital, gathering information from families to file the certificate.
From 2000 to 2012, Debbie was the hospital's only birth certificate clerk, so she interacted with all 36,962 families who had a baby then. As the number of births increased, in 2013, she began sharing duties with another birth certificate clerk.
"I've loved meeting families and being part of one of their happiest times. Since I've been here a while, I've even gotten to meet the second generation of babies. Often, I'll be in the room with a new mother and baby, and the grandmother will say, 'Hey, I remember you from when she was born!'" says Debbie.
Over the years, Debbie has seen many trends in baby names come and go as pop culture evolves. She's seen a rise in babies named Maverick and Nova lately from the Marvel comic series. In recent years, she's also seen a trend toward older, more traditional names like Oliver, Penelope, Ernest, Dorothy, and Tabitha.
When most births are joyous, sometimes parents need support navigating paternity and co-parenting. "I often connect young parents to resources like social work or the Fatherhood Coalition for advice. I'm glad I can help people when they need it most," says Debbie.
Each day is busy for Debbie. Lexington Medical Center has the third-highest number of deliveries of 39 hospitals with labor and delivery units in South Carolina. Birth certificate clerks must submit data to the South Carolina Department of Public Health's Vital Records Office within five days of a birth.
Because of her commitment to excellence, in 2023, Debbie was the first recipient of the South Carolina Parenting Opportunity Program’s quarterly Outstanding Birth Certificate Clerk award.
"Sometimes parents recognize me out in public, which makes me feel really good. I'm glad to have played a tiny part in their growing family," says Debbie.
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