MSN , RN , CPHQ , Director of Clinical Operations for Adult Ambulatory Services at Rhode Island Hospital
HOW DID YOU GET INTO NURSING ? My dream as a young girl was to be a Harlem Globetrotter — I can still spin a basketball on one finger ! Nursing never crossed my mind until it was suggested by one of my college professors . The details as to how I finally landed on nursing are a blur , but what is not a blur is when nursing became more than a job . My nephew , Nate , was born in December 1995 , with an undiagnosed congenital heart defect . A week later , he was rushed through the emergency department doors in cardiac arrest and my sister and I were told it was unlikely he would make it through the night . No forever goodbyes were said that night , nor ever , but he did return to the hospital around his first birthday for open heart surgery . During this time , my sister approached me with the idea that I become a pediatric ICU nurse . Until then , I had only worked with adult patients . When I explained my concerns of not having any pediatric experience , I was quickly hushed with , “ Dana , this is not optional . I am going to bring my sick son home and I can ’ t do this without you .” A few weeks later , I started Pediatric ICU orientation at University of Maryland Medical Center .
NURSE EXECUTIVE
WHAT ’ S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR CURRENT ROLE ? I oversee six outpatient centers with more than twenty different specialties / subspecialties affiliated with the hospital , including primary care , endocrinology , urology , orthopedics , GI , pulmonary , surgery , burn , ENT , the Sleep Lab , phototherapy treatment and dental . Building and fostering high functioning , diverse , compassionate and resilient teams is my favorite part . As Nate has grown , I have grown as a nurse and as a leader with a clear sense of purpose . I actively seek opportunities where I can positively affect the lives of our patients , employees and community .
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH ADULT AMBULATORY SERVICES IN RHODE ISLAND . Health outcomes should not be dependent upon the zip code we are born in nor on
OF THE YEAR the color of our skin . Sadly , that is not the case for so many , and it is unacceptable . Over the last several years , Rhode Island Hospital ( RIH ) Adult Ambulatory Services has partnered with many Lifespan departments , Brown Medicine and Brown Emergency Medicine to develop , support or initiate a number of programs to address societal disparities and inherent justice system inequities . One of the ambulatory care sites I oversee is the RIH Center for Primary Care in Providence . It includes two subspecialty clinics : the Transitions Clinic , which provides primary care for patients released from incarceration who have multiple chronic conditions , and the Recovery Clinic , which treats patients who are recovering from opioid use or addiction . Both clinics use Community Health Workers ( CHWs ) and Peer Recovery Specialists ( PRSs ) — frontline professionals who are representative of the patient population they serve — to assist vulnerable patients in improving their health by ensuring they have access to comprehensive care . They also act as a bridge between the hospital and the community by connecting the patients to social supports and health education and helping coordinate their overall care . My role has been to develop and support these programs operationally and to advocate for their sustainability . Why ? As my sister would say , “ It ’ s not optional .” It is the right thing to do .
56 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2021