Jo Barratt, RN, BSN
Acute Care for Elders Unit

Background

I received my degree from SUNY Brockport, NY, in 1977. After college, I worked in a supervisory position in long-term care and rehab facility. I came to Highland because I wanted more variety and more day-to-day contact with patients. I am considering going for my Master’s degree. 

Time at Highland Hospital

I’ve been here since 2001.

Career Path at Highland Hospital

I started on the ACE unit. It’s a great place to work. Highland’s small enough that you get to meet people from all areas but large enough that you can get to where you want to be. There are lots of opportunities here, one of which was the help to become certified in geriatrics.

My Dominant Personality Traits

I think my main virtue is patience. I really like older people—the feistier the better! I put my all into my work and try to give 110 percent. Geriatrics is challenging and intellectually rigorous. Being somewhat stubborn serves me well. I don’t jump ship when the going gets tough. I love variety, too. My job gives me the opportunity to teach nursing students and help newer staff with professional development. That, combined with patient care, makes my job so satisfying. It makes my heart feel good to go home and know I did everything I could.    

About the Acute Care for Elders Unit

Our patients can be very vulnerable. Many are frail and some are confused. Most of them have a complex combination of acute and chronic conditions. We have to keep track of multiple diagnoses, a litany of test results and combinations of several medications for each patient. Also, with older patients, the key is to prevent functional decline. Older patients who stay in bed rapidly lose muscle mass and function. We have to get them moving quickly and enable them to resume as many activities of daily living as possible. This means we’re a very busy unit.

The ACE model of care focuses on identifying geriatric syndromes and treating them early. We have to be ready to take remedial action before a crisis requires it. Special emphasis is placed on assessment of the presence of pain, mental status, skin integrity, elimination, diet, and mobility. Treating pain appropriately is a fine art for us. We need to keep our patients comfortable enough to encourage mobility and, at the same time, make sure a painkiller doesn’t trigger delirium. Older adults often don’t have the typical signs and symptoms that a younger person would so we have to be thoroughly familiar with atypical presentations. More and more surgical interventions are being done on an increasingly elder population so our post-op skills have to be top notch. 

We have a very respectful workplace. Our team works together to help ensure that everyone is coordinating their efforts. There’s tremendous staff loyalty to the unit’s mission and that builds team cohesiveness. We put the needs of our clients at the top of our agenda. The physicians are very, very approachable and listen to us. They ask for our opinions. I think we have more say in patient care than is typical in many hospitals.

My passion for geriatric nursing continues to deepen here. My patients help me define my own attitudes and expectations about aging. They help me appreciate what a gift life is.