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Evo Terra: It takes a dedicated team of medical professionals to make a healthcare system work, both for patients and for the staff. What makes Skagit Regional Health different? Let's find out.

This is Be Well with Skagit Regional Health. Thanks for joining us. I'm Evo Terra. And my guest today is Connie Thornton. She's an RN at Skagit Regional Health. And I have one very big question for Connie. Why do you work at Skagit Regional Health?

Connie Thornton: Hey, Evo. Thanks so much for having me. Wow. Because this is the place where I want to finish out my career as a nurse. I've worked multiple different places and this is the place where I landed because it's the place that has given me the most joy in nursing.

Evo Terra: Ah, that's really, really good to hear. But let's back up for just a moment. When was it that you realized healthcare was the career for you?

Connie Thornton: Well, I came to nursing late in life. My husband passed away after a very, very brief illness. I had two kids to feed, and so I sought out something that I could do that would support myself and my children at a fairly young age. I was 36 when he passed. So, I had littles, a three-year-old and an 11-year-old.

Evo Terra: Oh, wow. That's a big deal.

Connie Thornton: And nursing was where I landed.

Evo Terra: Why nursing?

Connie Thornton: That's a good question. I think it was something that I knew I could support my family on. And it's funny because I think I became a nurse by default. But after 15 years, I think I'm a nurse because it fits. I've done multiple different types of nursing, and bedside or patient care is where I feel the most fulfilled.

Evo Terra: Well, it's good to find that place where you figure out, this is my fit, or a fit at least for me. That's a good thing. Let's get specific about your role there at Skagit Valley Hospital. How long have you worked there again?

Connie Thornton: I've been here a little over seven years. And for the first, I want to say five-ish years, I worked bedside on the medical pediatric floor. And then, one of the nurses who was in the SOU, the special observation unit, piqued my interest and said, "Gosh, you know, have you ever thought about coming down and doing this?" And I thought, I can't do that. And she said, "Oh, yes you can." And so now, I work in the special observation unit. We admit and recover patients who are in the cath lab, different types of heart-associated diagnoses as well as interventional radiology. So, we do all different kinds of things. Heart caths, pacers, angioplasty, just all different kinds of things.

Evo Terra: So, that's two different departments you've worked in since you've been there at your tenure. Is that it? Have you done other things?

Connie Thornton: I have done other things, but not here at Skagit.

Evo Terra: Got it.

Connie Thornton: I worked other hospitals. I've worked clinic and a lot of that was to accommodate my children's schedule. I came to Skagit once I had the opportunity to no longer accommodate children's schedules and could work what I want, when I want, how I want, and that was how I ended up working medical pediatric.

Evo Terra: Sure, sure. Given that flexibility is a good thing, right?

Connie Thornton: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Evo Terra: So if you had to sum it up under why it is you enjoy working at Skagit Regional Health, what would you say?

Connie Thornton: Skagit is a little bit smaller of a hospital in an area that, not too far from us, has some pretty big healthcare providers. We have University of Washington, we have Swedish, we have Harborview that aren't that far away. And so, people have a choice. We have Providence as well in Everett. And so, people have choices for some incredible healthcare, but Skagit is smaller.

As a result, I see that Skagit absolutely head above. We all know each other. It's small enough so that, you know, if you're struggling in the hallway to transport a patient and someone from x-ray sees you, they jump in and help or, you know, somebody from another floor or you call the kitchen and put in an order and, "Hey, how you doing? I haven't heard from you in forever." The camaraderie, the fellowships, so to speak, that you have with each other, and it is hospital-wide, I believe, or at least that's been my experience, is really a delight. It's what keeps me here.

A perfect example of this is Christmas morning this year. I was on call for Christmas. Luckily, I didn't get called in because that means nobody was really super sick. But the very first thing I had was a text message from my coworkers, from one of my coworkers, wishing us all a wonderful Christmas. That was my start. You don't always get that. And my department is small. But it touched my heart that we care so much about each other, that that's the first thing we think of. We get up on Christmas morning and we're texting each other saying, "Hey, have an awesome day."

Evo Terra: That is great.

Connie Thornton: That's what brings me coming back every day.

Evo Terra: Yeah, that's an outstanding story. That familial closeness is something that we all want, probably, in our working that is also very, very hard to achieve, especially in something as large and elaborate and as complicated as healthcare. So, it's so great that you have found something like that at Skagit Regional Health.

Connie Thornton: Absolutely, absolutely. I've had the opportunity. You know, when I travel through the hospital, if I see a face that I don't recognize or I meet someone, we have travelers that come here per diem just because the environment is so welcoming. I've never been anywhere else where I've seen this before, that, "Hey, how's it going?" It's a welcoming environment. Don't get me wrong, it's challenging. But it's great to work at a place where everybody kind of is aware of everyone else.

Evo Terra: What is it about Skagit Regional Health that is so different?

Connie Thornton: One of the things that makes Skagit different, I mean, is because it is small, it's nimble and it can shift gears so much easier than a larger hospital. So if there's something that's not quite right, let's give this a try. It didn't work, let's try something else. And I don't know that I'd always put that because it's a challenge, I think, in healthcare right now. But our CMO, our chief medical officer, she would come in the early days of the pandemic, she would come and walk the floors and check on everyone, "How's it going?" She is amazing. I mean, she is absolutely amazing. Another thing too that I'm noticing right now, and you can throw this in, is we had a chief nursing officer who retired during the pandemic. She is back at bedside.

Evo Terra: Oh, wow.

Connie Thornton: Yes, yes, she is back at bedside, not full-time, but she came back to help. We also have another doctor who retired and he has come back to work here occasionally. So, they're working as, you know, relief for the staff. To me, that speaks volumes when you have people who have retired who've said, " I choose to come back, maybe not full-time, but to support because I understand how challenging these times are for the staff." It's brutal and it's amazing to be able to work someplace where I don't have to drag myself out of bed to go to work. I get up, I'm ready to go to work. And I'm thankful for that, I'm blessed with that. And I don't think everybody can say that.

Evo Terra: Absolutely. Well, Connie, it sounds like you and a host of other highly qualified, great people from the healthcare community are working together at Skagit Regional Health. And thank you so much for your time today.

Connie Thornton: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

Evo Terra: For more information, you can visit skagitregionalhealth.org to learn more. Again, that's Skagit, S-K-A-G-I-T, regionalhealth.org. And if you found this podcast episode helpful, please share it on your social media platforms. And thanks again for listening to Be Well with Skagit Regional Health. Hoping your health is good health. I have been your host, Evo Terra.