First Set of Twins Born at St. Augustine General

In 1977, Shannon and Marisa were the first set of twins born at St. Augustine General Hospital, now UF Health Flagler Hospital. From birth through adulthood, two constants have remained in their lives – each other and UF Health St. Johns. Today, Shannon and Marisa live less than a mile apart and work at UF Health Flagler Hospital.

Marisa, now Manager of UF Health St. Johns Surgical Center, started her career as a nurse at UF Health Flagler Hospital in January 2000. Three months later, Shannon, now Manager of Rehabilitation Services, joined her sister as a physical therapist.

UF Health St. Johns also plays a role in the lives of their extended family. Marisa met her husband, Martin Casillas, on the open heart unit in 2001, and both of their children were born at the hospital.

Marisa’s daughter, now 16, is part of the Health Academy at Pedro Menendez High School, which brings student interns to the hospital as part of their curriculum.

Marisa says, “There is a convenience to working 12 minutes from home, but that doesn’t keep someone at their job. The culture, the work environment, the people you work with, and the job you do, is what keeps you at your job. And those things are what have kept my sister and me at UF Health St. Johns for so many years and encouraged my daughter to follow in our footsteps.”

As much as the twins’ lives are intertwined with UF Health St. Johns, the interconnectedness didn’t even begin with their generation. Shannon and Marisa’s mother, Lana, was born at (then) Flagler Hospital in 1953, and the doctor who delivered Lana was present at the birth of the twins in 1977. Some things are just meant to be.