Good things come in small packages.

The old saying about “good things coming in small packages” certainly applies to Texas State benefactor Patti Harrison. Patti is definitely petite, definitely energetic and definitely has a big heart. She is also making a big difference at the university where she spent her freshman and sophomore years.

In 1947, Patti enrolled as a freshman at what was then Southwest Texas State Teachers College. She stayed in Beretta Hall – Beretta was new at the time – and settled down to a heavy class load.

Patti had dreamed about becoming a doctor. She planned to attend college in San Marcos for her first two years and then to transfer to UT. When it came time to transfer, she had settled on a degree in medical technology, which was not offered at UT at the time, so she went to Fort Worth to attend TCU.

Many years later, while working as a medical technologist at Herman Hospital in Houston, she decided to go to medical school, but, in the process of seeking admission, she was intimidated by a physician who asked her, “Honey, why don’t you just stay home and have babies?”

She did not stay home and have babies. She enjoyed a nine-year career as technical director of the blood bank at Herman Hospital in Houston. Of the next phase of her life, she says humbly, “I was fortunate with the stock market.”

Patti’s first involvement with Texas State as a donor was in support of the Telehealth program in the College of Health Professions. This gift initiated the program and supported the operations for the first three years.

Recently, The PSH Foundation has continued its support of the Telehealth Program with a gift of $150,000.

The Telehealth Program, located in the Department of Physical Therapy utilizes telecommunication lines to allow students and staff to monitor the medical information of patients undergoing physical therapy at remote locations. It is used primarily for individuals with heart or lung disease who find travel to rehabilitation facilities difficult and for the economically disadvantaged.