ER nurses highlight teamwork
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May 3—GENEVA — In the emergency room at Geneva Medical Center, teamwork has created a supportive work environment and better patient experience.
David DiPofi is the Nursing Manager in the Emergency Department at both UH Geneva Medical Center and UH Conneaut Medical Center.
He said that actually being able to help people is the best part of nursing.
"Educating patients and their families is a huge part of our job," DiPofi said. "We really try and help coordinate their move through the healthcare system."
He said that last year, the Conneaut Emergency Department saw just over 10,000 patients and Geneva Emergency Department saw 19,000. They are over capacity more than 50 percent of the time.
"We really focus on teamwork," DiPofi said. "We are going to see everybody as quickly and safely as we possibly can. Our job is to make sure that they're triaged and then we can appropriately see them. We want to make sure that everyone is triaged in a timely fashion. We will treat them in hall beds and chairs if that's necessary. Whatever we have to do to help the community."
Colleen Hurst graduated from Kent State Ashtabula two years ago and started in the ER as a registered nurse at UH Geneva Medical Center.
Hurst said that DiPofi's wife, Rhonda was one of her lab instructors at Kent State Ashtabula and learned a lot from her. Hurst works frequently with now with David DiPofi.
"I like the ER, because it's fast paced," Hurst said. "I feel like I see different things everyday and I'm constantly learning new things everyday. I like the atmosphere here. There's definitely a lot of teamwork."
"Dave continues to be a dedicated alumni and to this day, supports the nursing students from the program in his place of employment," said Julie Senita, senior program director for Nursing and Allied Health at Kent State Ashtabula.
"The Emergency Department is all about teamwork," DiPofi said. "Nobody is on an island. We all look to each other for different specialties or different strengths. We lean on those and come together as a team."
In 2010, DiPofi decided to attend Kent State Ashtabula to become a nurse.
"David brought a wealth of diverse experience with him to nursing school," Senita said. "He was always a leader and supporter of his fellow students. His experience and desire to be successful in nursing led him to a seamless completion of the program."
DiPofi said that there was no other school that he considered.
"All the nurses I knew had come out of Kent State," said DiPofi. "My wife is a graduate of the nursing program. I knew that it was not only very challenging, but the nurses were well prepared."
DiPofi said that a few of the instructors stood out to him while he was attending.
He said that College of Nursing Associate Professor Tamra Courey was a huge influence. Courey is an expert in mental health nursing.
"She was absolutely well-informed about her section of healthcare," DiPofi said. "It was really terrific to be able to study under her and learn from her."
As a result, DiPofi ended up getting into mental health nursing after graduating before taking on the new role in the ER.
