Sometimes the most meaningful moments of care happen when someone simply takes the time to be present.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While making her regular rounds at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital, The Woodlands,\u00a0<\/span>Environmental Services (EVS)\u00a0Houskeeper\u00a0<\/span>Maruja\u00a0Caballero,\u00a0heard a young patient crying. When she arrived at his room to collect the trash, she stopped in her tracks and moved into action to help.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although\u00a0Maruja\u00a0was there to perform her daily duties, she\u00a0immediately\u00a0recognized the child needed something more. So, for a moment, she\u00a0set\u00a0aside her task and stopped\u00a0to comfort\u00a0him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There was one challenge:\u00a0Maruja\u00a0speaks Spanish, and the young patient speaks English. Even so,\u00a0Maruja\u00a0found a way to connect. Through her warm presence and caring spirit, she helped calm his fears\u00a0and bring\u00a0comfort during a difficult moment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The boy\u2019s family later shared the profound impact of her kindness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe recently returned from surgery scared, emotional, and overwhelmed.\u00a0His tears stopped, and her words touched\u00a0all of\u00a0our souls when he finally smiled and laughed at her.\u00a0She brought him out of his scary moment, then told him she would be back the next day to check on him\u2026\u00a0and she kept her promise. She followed up the next day and continued to pour positivity into my son. Even though he\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0understand her language, that\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0matter. She is an amazing person.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Maruja, the act felt natural.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was something very natural,\u201d she explained. \u201cI simply felt the desire to comfort him when I saw that he was going through a difficult situation. It was an impulse that arose in me when I saw him crying and wanted to help him in some way. I started trying to calm him down without knowing how, trying to make him see that everything was going to be\u00a0alright. After a while, everything started to flow, and he began to smile.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Maruja\u00a0has been a member of the\u00a0Crothall\u00a0team at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital for the past two years, earning\u00a0the respect\u00a0and appreciation\u00a0of\u00a0colleagues through her compassion and dedication.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMaruja\u00a0exemplifies what it means to serve with compassion, consistency, and pride.\u00a0Maruja\u00a0has supported all shifts and brings a genuine sense of care to everything she does. She\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0just clean rooms, she creates a space of comfort and reassurance for our patients and their families,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Yetunde\u00a0Adeyinka, Director of Environmental Services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That sentiment is shared by hospital leadership.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur\u00a0Crothall\u00a0EVS team is an integral part of our hospital family, grounded in shared HEART values and a deep commitment to our patients and families,\u201d said Clarissa Bustillo of Texas Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cTeam members like\u00a0Maruja\u00a0don\u2019t just support the environment of care; they create meaningful human connections in moments that matter most. Experiences like this reflect the compassion, ownership, and pride the\u00a0Crothall\u00a0team brings to our hospital every day, and we are incredibly grateful for their partnership.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Maruja\u2019s story is a powerful reminder that work done outside assigned duties can be just as important.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yetunde\u00a0said, \u201cI make it a priority to remind my team that what we do goes far beyond cleaning. EVS is the foundation on which hospitals stand, and they should never lose sight of that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Maruja\u00a0said she is always motivated to give her best.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that motivates me to give my best is knowing that there\u2019s always someone I can help\u00a0with just a simple gesture or by going the extra\u00a0mile and\u00a0knowing that there\u2019s always someone to offer our support in difficult situations is invaluable.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Through a simple act of kindness,\u00a0Maruja\u00a0turned a frightening moment into one filled\u00a0with\u00a0joy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Maruja](\"https:\/\/www.crothall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Image-54-e1781201692924-300x289.jpg\")
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