The concept of retirement is foreign to Elena Griffing. She started working at a hospital in the San Francisco Bay area on April 10, 1946, and hasn't stopped since, according to The Associated Press.
Now 90 years old, Ms. Griffing said she'll continue working "until they throw me out or they carry me out in a box."
When Ms. Griffing began working at the age of 20, the facility was called Alta Bates Community Hospital and the average annual salary was $2,500. She worked alongside founder and nurse Alta Alice Miner Bates, RN, who reprimanded her for wearing 3-inch heels.
Since then, much has changed. The Berkeley, Calif.-based facility altered its name to Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. And Ms. Griffing only wears 2 1/2-inch heels these days.
But one thing has remained the same: Ms. Griffing's passion for her work. "I can't wait to come to work every day. This is my hospital," she said, according to the report. "I enjoy doing anything I can do to be of service. Truly, it's the patient that counts. If it's helping someone, it's my bag.
She really has done everything she can to be of service. Back in 1946, Ms. Griffing's first position involved laboratory work catheterizing frogs. She spent a decade working for an endocrinologist, worked in the Alta Bates Burn Center for 22 years and is currently employed in patient relations four days per week.
"I don't feel any differently than I did when I was 20," Ms. Griffing said, according to the report. "I am truly so lucky."