Local Legend Retires After 40 Years of Service

East Valley resident, Janet Althoff, RN, has been a nurse at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center for the last 4 decades. The beloved employee and hospital legend retired this week after a career that started on Valentine’s Day 40 years ago.

In 1977 when Althoff first joined Chandler Regional, the organization was known as Chandler Community Hospital and located on McQueen Road and Chandler Boulevard. She started her career as a medical/surgical nurse and floated to the hospital’s tiny emergency room as needed. In 1981, she was promoted to supervisor of the emergency room which had expanded to five beds and started operating as a 24-hour department. She then served as emergency room director until 1988.

From 1988 to 1995, Althoff served as a house supervisor, a job that allowed her to gain high-level administration experience, and to work on the weekends while tending to her growing family. Throughout the next two decades she would take on a wide variety of roles—from director of the Dignity Health Ahwatukee Urgent Care, to a human resources recruiter, to her last position in Employee Wellness.

“I have so many incredible memories and stories,” says Althoff. “I’ll cherish the wonderful interactions I’ve had with my coworkers most of all.”

Althoff watched Chandler Regional transform from a small community hospital to an organization that cares for thousands of people every year. During her tenure, the hospital has undergone many name changes, moved to its current location (i)n 1984, and enjoyed tremendous growth.

After serving the East Valley community for 40 years, Althoff says she will miss the family atmosphere that welcomes so many patients and employees to the hospital.

In the coming months, she plans on traveling, exercising, gardening, and maybe coming back to volunteer at Chandler Regional to help with flu shots. Whatever the future holds, Althoff has resolved to sleep in for the next six months.