Patients never see their faces. But they play a key role in helping people who need surgery get care at JPS Health Network.
Called patient care coordinators, their job is what the title implies: They’re responsible for choreographing the complicated ballet of making about 1,000 surgeries a month fit into the 13 operating rooms at JPS.
“Their work is invaluable,” said Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, a general surgeon who operates at JPS. “We literally could not operate without their assistance. They are constantly juggling the operative schedule to allow for optimal utilization of time. It’s a demanding job and they handle it skillfully.”
Rodriguez said he is grateful for the small group of nurses who work inside an out of the way office on the second floor of the Outpatient Clinic Building. They play a vital role in making sure people who need surgery get taken care of as soon as possible and, by handling all details large and small, they allow surgeons to focus on the big job of fixing bodies.
Coordinators are constantly getting surgery orders from the doctors they assist. They have to act quickly to keep the schedule moving. Then they have to check back on the cases repeatedly, making sure pre-op procedures are being handled on time.
“There are a lot of things that factor into it when surgeries are scheduled,” said patient care coordinator Teresa Dekleva. “It’s not just filling up the time slots. There are a lot of phone calls that happen to make sure everything that needs to be done before their surgery gets handled when it’s supposed to be done.”
Not only do the surgical suite hours and the schedules of surgeons have to agree, Dekleva said patient care coordinators have to check all the boxes to make sure patients have had all their required testing and preparation for their operation. That can include making sure they have someone in place to help care for them afterwards if they’re not going to be able to take care of themselves, that their financial arrangements are taken care of, even that they still want to get the procedure and plan to show up at the agreed to appointment.
It’s really complex to manage so many surgeons and so many patients with limited OR time
When any of the items on the pre-surgery to-do list don’t get taken care of and an operation is postponed, that’s not only wasted time. It’s a lost opportunity to help someone else. So the patient care coordinators have to make sure all the puzzle pieces fit together just right.
“The patient care coordinators work magic by finding or creating time in the schedule to get patients treated sooner,” said Dr. Fayette Williams, Division of Maxillofacial Oncology & Reconstructive Surgery Director at JPS. “It’s really complex to manage so many surgeons and so many patients with limited OR time but they always manage to make things happen.”
Cases range from only minutes for some eye operations to 13-14 hours straight for a surgery Williams performs to remove a patient’s tibia, turn the straight bone into a horseshoe shape with a series of precise cuts, and use it to replace their lower jawbone.
How do the patient care coordinators anticipate all the needs of surgeons and requirements of patients before they can have an operation? The answer is simple: Through experience. And lots of it.
“I’ve been a nurse for 33 years,” Dekleva said. “I worked at Parkland Hospital in Dallas in labor and delivery and in the operating room. I worked overseas in a primary care setting, working with everyone from adults to infants.”
She came to JPS working in IV sedation and Orthopedics. After three decades as a nurse, she was ready for a change. Once she made the switch, Dekleva said she never looked back. Becoming a patient care coordinator has rejuvenated her career.
“It might seem like a boring job because there is a lot of looking at computer screens and there are a lot of phone calls,” Dekleva said. “But you can tell in the patient’s voice how grateful they are for the help. Knowing that you helped them get the care they needed, that’s what makes me feel good about my job.”
A group of 10 aspiring JPS Health Network nurses will go to school for free thanks to Reach for the Stars scholarships.
Funded by an anonymous donor, the scholarships are awarded twice a year to JPS team members, according to Jodi Bell, Learning Projects Director in the JPS Human Resources Department. They’re earmarked for team members who want to become a nurse or those who already are nurses but want to enhance their education and abilities.
“It’s a full scholarship,” Bell said. “It covers all tuition, books and fees. It’s really a great opportunity for people who are interested in nursing-related education.”
The scholarship recipients for the current term are:
- Jean Beya, a certified phlebotomist in the Phlebotomy Lab
- Tami Jennings-Lawrence, an RN in Behavioral Health
- Melissa Lind, an LVN in the Oncology Clinic
- Irene Mutekwa, an RN in Behavioral Health
- Christian Nilo (Munoz), a certified surgical technician in the operating room
- Jada Randolph, a multi-skilled technician in P5 Surgical/Trauma Progressive Care
- Patrice Sherwood, an RN in Women and Children
- Lashunda Warner, an RN in the Health Center for Women
- Stacy Washington, a nurse resident in P5 Surgical/Trauma Progressive Care
- Stephanie Zollinger, a nurse resident in T11 Respiratory Pulmonary Unit
It was a huge blessing, financially, to get this scholarship
Danielle Brenner, a lactation consultant at JPS, was a Reach for the Stars scholarship recipient in 2019. The financial support has allowed her to attend two semesters of school for free. Brenner said she is attending the University of Texas at Arlington to earn a BSN degree. She estimated she’s saving $11,000-$12,000 between tuition, books and other expenses, a boost she appreciates as she tries to go to school while holding down a full-time job.
“It was a huge blessing, financially, to get this scholarship,” said Brenner who already holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition. “It was nice not to have to stress about buying books, scrubs and all of those other things that go along with it.”
Brenner said she expects to graduate in December. She said when she does it will open up a lot of career opportunities in other nursing fields.
According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, Texas has a critical nursing shortage. There were 14,973 fewer registered nurses in 2015 than there were jobs available. By the year 2030, the demand for RNs is expected to grow 53.8 percent leaving a deficit of 59,970 nurses. The report also predicted a shortage of nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives which will grow every year over the next decade.
The next application period for the Reach for the Stars scholarships will take place in July. JPS team members can contact NursingStars@jpshealth.org for more information.
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