University Hospital Staff Provide Out-of-State Couple Anniversary Surprise

An Ohio couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in an unlikely place Friday: University Hospital.

Brigido Barrientes, a self-employed truck driver, was seriously injured Oct. 22 at a loading dock in Newark. His wife, Beth, rushed to his bedside from their Ohio home and has stayed in the area ever since.

When Susan Walsh, CRNA, a nurse anesthetist at University Hospital, overheard Beth Barrientes mention that she and her husband would have to spend their 10th wedding anniversary in the hospital--hundreds of miles away from home--she called the hospital's public affairs department for help.

"I just think we need to do something," Walsh said. "They're so far from home, and it's their 10th wedding anniversary."

That something was a surprise Friday from University Hospital President and CEO, James R. Gonzalez, MPH, FACHE. Gonzalez, complete with balloons and a cake in tow.