Retiring transplant coordinator is a superhero to many

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Debbie Murphy has shed many tears in her career at Riley Hospital for Children, but none quite so bittersweet as saying goodbye to the place that has shaped her, tested her and rewarded her so thoroughly for 50 years.

Murphy is retiring Friday after 25 years as a pediatric cardiac transplant coordinator, but her career at Riley goes back another 25 years during which she worked as a bedside nurse.

Colleagues, friends and family will gather to honor her Friday during a noon reception on the Heart Center, but she’s been anticipating this day for many months, talking with families and preparing her replacement, Kelly Orr, for the job that has never been just a job for Murphy.

“Riley is an amazing place, and I will miss being here,” she said this week. “I’ve always considered it a privilege to work here, honestly. I think it’s the best of the best.”

If you ask her colleagues and patients, they will tell you she is the best of the best, praise that she quickly deflects. (We’ll let them talk anyway.)

“Debbie’s importance to the Riley heart transplant program cannot be overstated,” said transplant surgeon Dr. Jeremy Herrmann. “She is a consummate professional who has provided an outstanding example of how to navigate complex issues within this field.”

She is “remarkably humble,” he added, rarely taking credit for her work behind the scenes. “But we, along with our transplant patients and families, appreciate her invaluable skills.”

Heart surgeon Dr. Mark Turrentine agrees, saying her departure is a loss for the department, but that she leaves “a good legacy.”

“She’s been here almost since the beginning of the (transplant) program, and she’s been dedicated to it for the bulk of her career,” he said. “She is a good person, and she cares.”

As she meets with patients and families for the last time this week, Murphy acknowledges there have been lots of tears.

On Monday, she saw transplant recipient Caleb Kinnaird, 14, and his parents, Katie and Daniel.

They couldn’t leave without taking a photo with the woman who has been by their side for most of their son’s life, even before he received his hero heart at Riley in 2013.

“Debbie Murphy has been such an important part of our Riley journey,” Katie Kinnaird said. “Debbie treats Caleb, and really our whole family, with such personal attention and genuine care that you'd think Caleb was her only patient. We will always be incredibly grateful for her calming presence and steady, encouraging guidance.”

As transplant coordinators, Murphy and her colleagues are along for the journey from the time a patient is evaluated for a heart transplant until the day the transplant occurs and long afterward.

As such, they become part of their patients’ stories, following them post-transplant often for years, celebrating the holidays with them at transplant reunions, watching them graduate from high school or college, get married, even have children of their own.

Murphy recently attended the wedding of two-time transplant recipient Leighton Akins, whom she’s known since he was a toddler.

"Debbie has been the best transplant coordinator a patient could ever have," Akins said. "Not only was she ready and able to tackle every issue I could throw her way, she cared about me like family."

For Murphy, seeing patients go from transplant to graduation and marriage is "incredibly rewarding," she said. “It’s fun to be a part of that.”

Yet, she does not forget those families whose children did not have the chance to reach adulthood. All of them have a place in her heart.

As happens with some people who shy away from the spotlight, Murphy seems surprised by the impact others say she’s had in their lives, preferring to shift attention to the team.

That makes perfect sense to transplant cardiologist Dr. Robert Darragh, who has known Murphy since he joined Riley 36 years ago and she was a bedside nurse on the infant unit.

“For her, it was about the kids. That’s the simplest way to put it,” he said. “Her commitment to the transplant kids has been more than I could have ever expected – the after-hours calls, troubleshooting problems for families, helping them get through tough situations.”

In a word, he said, she’s been “indispensable.”

A “lifeline,” says one family. A “real-life superhero,” says another.

Kelly Orr, who has been working alongside Murphy for the past several months as she transitions into the transplant coordinator role (joining Alisha Cook and Maegan Boehm), said she feels fortunate to be able to learn from Murphy’s experience.

“I’m super grateful for the time to help patients and families feel comfortable with the transition as well as build my confidence to pick up where she’s leaving off,” said Orr, who is no stranger to the Heart Center.

Orr has been at Riley for 21 years, spending most of that time as a bedside nurse in the unit, then nurse navigator for the cardiology team. She also was a manager on 7 West.

As she steps into Murphy’s shoes, she feels ready, thanks to her predecessor’s diligent training.

“She is super smart and knows so much,” Orr said, but it’s her heart that has defined her.

“Seeing just how much she cares personally, really providing that whole patient care, that’s what’s inspired me,” Orr said.

Murphy says Orr is already earning families’ trust.

“I know everyone is going to be in good hands. She is amazing.”

The same can be said for the entire team, said Murphy, who was named a 2024 Healthcare Hero by the Indianapolis Business Journal.

“People here do such amazing work. They are so dedicated and eager to do everything to make this transplant journey as easy as possible,” said Murphy, a mother of two and grandmother of three who knows the demands of the job better than most.

“This transplant work can be hard and sad, but it’s also very rewarding. We all share the desire to do the very best for our patients.”

That extends throughout the department, she said, and into the adult heart transplant team as well. Riley works closely with that team in the care of adult congenital transplant patients.

As she closes the book on her Riley career, Murphy is looking forward to taking a breath and enjoying what’s left of summer. She has trips planned with her husband, Pat, then will settle into some volunteer work.

She may be leaving Riley, but Riley will always have a piece of her heart.

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org