What is your official title?

Cardiovascular Chest Pain Coordinator and Cardiovascular Data Abstractor.

How long have you worked here at Memorial Medical Center?

41 years.

How did you come into this position?

In 2005, I was asked to take over the management of the Cardiovascular and Cardiac Surgery Registries, along with the Cardiovascular/Surgical Peer Review Program. Then, in 2012 our CEO asked that I work on getting MMC chest pain accredited. I did this successfully and a couple of years later, I decided to try something different and left to work in another department. A few years later, I decided to return to cardiology services and here I am.

What was your motivation for a career in healthcare?   

It’s going to sound crazy, but at the age of 7, I had my tonsils removed here in Las Cruces. I loved the hospital and looked up to the nurses. From then on, I knew I wanted to become a nurse.

What is a typical day like for you?

Currently, I am working on getting the Chest Pain Program back on track. I am reviewing and revising flowcharts, policies, procedures and order sets pertaining to chest pain. In between everything, I try to keep up with the data abstraction of the Cardiac, Pacer Implant, ACC and STS Registries.

How would you describe your role’s responsibilities?

I take my role very seriously. I am the liaison between Chest Pain Accreditation Services, EMS, and the hospital from Administration on down. Chest Pain accreditation involves everyone working together to ultimately provide quality care to our patients. Although everyone’s role is different and requires a different level of commitment, everyone’s participation is important for success, and I am the one trying to coordinate that this happens.

In what areas do you help patients?  

For the most part, I don’t take care of patients directly. I see my role as helping patients in the background. I try to abstract accurate data from medical records so that the quality metrics accurately reflect where we are in the cardiovascular care we provide. Accurate data and analysis of the metrics helps us determine if process changes are need. Ultimately, this will positively affect our patients.

What are some of your interests outside of work?   

I like doing floral arrangements, working on my yard, but most of all, traveling to see my children and grandchildren.

What is your favorite part about working for Memorial Medical Center?

I have seen many changes at this hospital. It has expanded greatly and the services we provide now are impressive. I love that we are progressing, but mostly, I really enjoy working with the Cardiovascular staff. They are wonderful people!