Employee Spotlight

Q. How long have you been working for SSCHS?

A. It's been 13 years.

Q. What made you decide to get into this field of work?

A. For this specific positon it was mainly the schedule that was very appealing for me. With having three young children, I could work Monday to Friday and be more present for my family. I enjoy my work because it doesn't remove me from the hands-on nursing part. I still go to emerge and acute, but I also do care coordination and discharge planning which is more office work. It's a mix of everything so it's never boring.

Q. Can you describe what a typical day is like for you?

A. I like to be a good team player so when I arrive I make sure everyone in emerge is OK and the acute care side is good or if they need any help. Those are my priorities. When that's settled, I do care coordination and discharge planning. Sometimes it's all together. I can sit at the emerge desk and multi-task.

With care coordination, I do a lot of home visits, but with COVID I try to do most of my work over the phone. I mostly help support people to stay in their homes as much as possible. That's the main goal. We've done a lot of expansion with palliative care since I first started. We've had more people palliating at home so the care coordination of home care services through end of life has been a huge expanse. Recently, I completed a symptom relief kit for people palliating at home so they can have access to certain medications for symptom relief. It's the first of its kind in Chapleau. We coordinate it with the home care nurse. She brings the kit to the home and makes sure there is a caregiver who can administer the drug. It will be nice because with COVID people will be able to stay at home more and not have to come to the hospital as much.

Q. Who do you interact with the most at work?

A. Patient-wise, I do have some younger patients, but the majority is older adults. Co-worker wise, it's mostly the RNs. I also interact quite a lot with Allison Irwin, our Occupational Therapist and Krista Hunter, our Therapy Assistant because they do home care as well. We review a lot of patients that we have in common. Every week we do a hospital round where we review who in acute can be discharged home. We review ALCs as well. We look at whether there have been any big changes or if there is anything else we can do, so we make sure we follow up on the patients. Oh, and I can't forget Charlsie! (co-worker) I call her all the time for homecare scheduling and new patients and to review care plans.

Q. How would your co-workers describe you?

A. I guess they would say I'm a good team player - if I can toot my own horn - and that I like to help other people.

Q. What's the best part about your job?

A. I enjoy building a relationship with patients and having that continuity of care with them where I asses them at home, help them stay at home, put in the support they need, and if they come to emerge, I go see them. I can check it they're OK or if we should change or add something for them to stay at home mores safely. It's nice because I've built that relationship with them.

Q. Why should someone consider a career with SSCHS?

A. I think because it's a small team so we're very close. People here are not numbers, they're people. We get to know them. We know their story, their family, their work. You get to build a really close relationship with patients and community. The sense of community is a lot stronger than in larger centres.

Q. What are some of your interests outside of work?

A. I enjoy cross country skiing and I enjoy being out on the trails in the summer, four wheeling or making a little fire by a lake or sitting on the beach. I enjoy a lot of outdoors activities. Sometimes it's just lying in the sun!