Gretchen's Mission | Cincinnati Children's

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Heading out the door at Cincinnati Children’s same time every morning is employee Gretchen Koetters. With cart in hand, she completes her own set of rounds. Gretchen’s job is to pick up toys from the inpatient units in order to take them back to the stock room for cleaning. And every day, her co-workers say she does her job with a smile.
“She’s a big part of our team. We really look forward to her coming to get our toys and she gets every last one of them,” said Marquita Frye, a patient care assistant at Cincinnati Children’s.
This month marks 20 years since Gretchen started at the medical center. She was one of the first graduates of a program that began at Cincinnati Children’s called Project Search. It focuses on young people with disabilities between the ages of 18 to 22. In their final year of high school, students leave the classroom and move to Cincinnati Children’s or another host business to intern for the entire school year. Gretchen was able to turn her Project Search experience into a full time job with benefits.
“When Gretchen was born, Down Syndrome was something a lot of people didn’t know enough about. Many of them were put into institutions,” said Florence Koetters, Gretchen’s mom. “My husband and I wanted her to get work skills and become self-sufficient. I think this program, Project Search, has done it for her.”
Program Search directors say just her presence at the hospital provides hope to other families with children who have disabilities.
“I think part of Gretchen’s success is she has fabulous attendance, she has a really strong work ethic and she sees a purpose in her work, she talks about I’m helping kids get better, she will say that, I’m helping babies, I’m helping kids stay healthy. She gets the mission of Cincinnati Children’s probably better than everybody,” said Susie Rutkowski, Co- Director of Project Search.
Her dedication was clear when she returned to work after the unexpected death of her father earlier this year. Gretchen’s work family embraced her knowing she was having a difficult time.
“I think this is fulfilling for her and she loves the people around her. They are very kind to her. They help her if she needs it and they are passionate about her getting ahead,” said Florence Koetters.
Despite having 20 years under her belt, Gretchen has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“I like doing errands and I love it,” said Gretchen Koetters.