Submitted by Nelia Lastimosa

As a student nurse in the Philippines, I was determined that psychiatry was the last field of nursing where I would want to practice my profession.

Many moons later (nineteen years ago!), I was introduced to Garfield Neurobehavioral Center (GNBC), one of ������Ƶ’s SNFs. Having stepped foot in Garfield’s door, I vividly remember asking myself, “Why didn’t I find a job with psychiatry sooner?”

I loved working with individuals who did not have the full capacity to speak for themselves about the care they received. I thought I could become their voice and worked very hard to do so. I was fortunate to have the same vision as the other leaders who worked there. The teamwork led us to achieve a deficiency-free survey from our licensing body, a major achievement. Garfield was also where I succeeded in developing nurses by hiring new grads from nursing schools that did their rotations with the facility.

After 11 years with GNBC, a door opened for me to join the Quality Team. I was initially assigned to be the SNF’s quality nurse. The SNF team pioneered the QAPI system and person-centered care before it became a ������Ƶ company-wide quality initiative. We also initiated the “permanent assignment,” which is a preferred method of assigning staff. Research has found that providing patients with the same caregiver (as opposed to rotating caregivers) results in more individualized care, which leads to better clinical outcomes and quality of life. It also leads to staff satisfaction and lower staff turnover rates.

A satisfying project with the SNF Quality Team was developing policies & procedures and ensuring they are implemented so we could meet the CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Conditions of Participation. At about the same time, ������Ƶ was also beginning to use MCN Policy Manual. Being a part of the team that reviewed policies & procedures before they ended up in Policy Manual was challenging and gratifying.

For the past four years, I have been a Director of Nursing (DON) at Cordilleras MHRC, and very happy to be a part of the battle with COVID-19. Though we could not prevent outbreaks, we surely helped our clients beat the odds. I am very fortunate to work with people who have in mind the clients' best interests. Their hearts are in the right place, and because of this, I am a winner.

At ������Ƶ, I met and worked with people who have helped me grow as a nurse. Because of them, I became a better nurse and human being. Because of them, my professional journey was marvelous. My gratitude to you all as I announce my retirement as of April 28, 2023, after nineteen years with ������Ƶ.