Detective Work Serves as Bridge to Care

by Pam Policz, nurse navigator, Washington campus

I am a detective. I get to dig deep to learn about each individual. I love learning about my patients and what they hope to get out of their stay with us.

This is my dream job. I get to spend time with our short-term rehabilitation patients to learn more about their healthcare needs and goals. It’s gratifying to become a consistent support and player in their overall care plan.

Helping individuals navigate their care options isn’t just about nursing, or the medical part of the journey. We have a whole team – everyone from dietitians to housekeepers – who play a role in the care experience. I am so honored to be part of the care team, and wouldn’t be able to do my work without my teammates, who make up the backbone of my work.

Together with my team, we build the bridge between healthcare and hospitality, ensuring that the needs of the whole person are met. And that can be anything from helping them to understand their medication to checking in with them to see when they want their room cleaned. It’s everything that we do as a team.

Building the “bridge” is the best part of my work. Once I receive a new patient, I start examining the newcomer’s history, lab results and what brought them to short-term rehab.

I live for the moments I get to spend with each patient. When someone is with us for a short stay, it is often because something has changed in their life. Maybe they’ve just had open heart surgery and need to recover, or maybe they are learning how to manage their COPD.

Regardless, it is my job to get to know them so that we can individualize their care and educate them on their condition so that they can go home feeling empowered.

It is my personal mission to help our patients recover. I help them understand what it takes to get better, show them that I am invested in their care. And when their eyes light up just knowing that they have a support system, I know I’ve done my job well and that I am a visible difference in their lives.