As she wrote prescriptions for her patients, Dr. Danielle Godinez decided to pen a new script for her well-being, figuratively.

She was living the hectic life of an ambulatory medicine physician: seeing patients every 15 minutes, filling out mounds of paperwork and logging long hours. Godinez walked out of that scenario, one she had lived since 2003, providing patients medical services on an outpatient basis, without admission to a hospital or other facility.

She found a new calling in the health care field.

The East Deer native who lives in West Deer will share her story of how she was able to forge ahead with a new career. She needed a change to be able to take care of her children and to have time to be with her husband, Dr. Lucas Godinez, as well as be there for her parents, who were getting older.

Godinez embodies the people who will be attending “Work-Life Balance: Choices, Challenges and Change,” a program sponsored by the Women of Alle-Kiski Engaging. The group’s mission is to empower women’s leadership through networking, professional development and community engagement.

It will be the organization’s first in-person event in two years because of the pandemic. The talk is from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 12 at The Clement, an event space in Tarentum.

The cost is $20. Register at business.allekiskistrong.com/calendar by May 9.

The title of this speaker series is fitting for Godinez, who made the choice to leave, has endured many challenges and adapted to the change.

She will lead the meeting and then be joined by her friend of 35 years, Heather Rommes of West Deer, a health care advocate and operations leader. Rommes will discuss Godinez’s resilience and how she found the right balance.

Rommes is about to start a position as director of operations at CareLinx. She said it is important to practice mindfulness, which contributes to resilience and perseverance.

“When you hear Danielle’s story, you will learn about what we as women feel we have to endure — a husband, a home, a family, a career,” Rommes said. “Women will be able to relate to her story. She is one of the most down-to-earth people I know, and she is making it work. She is evolving, which represents many women in the workforce today.”

Godinez is a physician for Aspire Health. She is also medical director of Embassy of Saxonburg, a skilled nursing facility, and Monarch Hospice of Lower Burrell. She shifted her concentration to the geriatric, palliative and hospice fields. That allows her to have a better schedule and spend as much time as needed with patients.

“I took a leap of faith to do what I did,” Godinez said. “It’s a process, and I work at it every day. I didn’t leave medicine. I just took a different path. I had reached a point in my career where I felt like I had to make a very important change in my profession. Things just became quilted together. I did it so I could be there for my growing children and my parents if they needed me.”

Godinez said she could not have done what she has done without her faith and the support of her husband and family.

“I still see former patients, and they ask when I am coming back to the office,” said Godinez, who left in 2015. “I miss them, but this is the right fit for me at this point in my life.”

Having Godinez and Rommes together is a perfect combination, said CiCi Broxie, chairwoman of WAKE and an Alle Kiski Strong Chamber board member.

“I think it will be well-received and am excited to hear both of their talks,” Broxie said. “Their insight is so important, especially after the past two years with the pandemic. I think we have all had to make adjustments the past two years. As women, we all do so much. We need to find time for ourselves while still having a career and caring for those we love.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)