Angie Paschke, APRN, CNP

I work in the ER in Sauk Centre from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., so I have a 15-hour overnight shift. There were nights when we had some really sick patients with nowhere for them to go.

I would call 26 hospitals, and they would say, ‘sorry we can’t help you, good luck.’ And I thought, okay, what are we gonna do.

Angie Paschke, APRN, CNP

Recognizing there was this need led to the formation of the Medical Officer of the Day (MOD) huddles, which helped make CentraCare feel like one big campus. The payoff for me personally is understanding. It is very frustrating if you don’t know what’s going on. You’re out at this regional site, and you’re like, ‘How can the central people not help us? This person is so sick, they do not belong here with me, they need the intensivist. Then, on this call, you’re like, oh, that’s why they can’t help me – they are drowning themselves.

The teamwork and communication has been the most humbling part to me. My nurses, good lord, the amount of stuff they’ve learned. And the fact that people will call and check on you to ask, ‘Are you okay today?’ Oh my gosh, it’s huge for me as an APP and for the physicians, it just helps create that more collaborative care of our patients. And that’s what I see as the future of CentraCare. It’s teamwork.