In the Spotlight
Renata Cook, RN BN
Primary Care Coordinator, NorWest Co-op Community Health
You work in a place where health equity is a fundamental value. The term can sound lofty and academic, though. What does it mean to you?
I work at NorWest Co-op Community Health as a primary care coordinator out of the Access NorWest site. It's is a three partner organization that includes NorWest Co-op Community Health, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Department of Families. The partners moved under one roof in 2013 to offer full range of health and social services for the Inkster and Seven Oaks communities and at risk populations. Health equity is one of Access NorWest most recent strategic priorities - although we've been practicing it here for a long time.
In June of this year, at our Access NorWest Staff Retreat, the whole Team has agreed to look at innovative ways to reach out and support families and communities that are hard to reach. However, NorWest Co-op Community Health, since the day of incorporation in 1972, has embraced community development, capacity building and health equity as the mission and vision - the cornerstone of how we work with our clients and the community, how we try to address all the determinants of health to ensure equal access to information, primary care services and food security, to just name a few. More specifically, most of our initiatives such as our Resource Centres and Teen Clinics support health equity by enabling clients to access a wide range of health services and programming in the community where they live, work, or go to school. More recently, our newest program, the Community Food Centre, addresses food security using a model that enables participants to access free food skills programming and healthy meals in a dignified way.
Did you come into your work at Access NorWest with any preconceived ideas of your role that you've had to alter, or even abandon, based on your experience with vulnerable populations?
I began my nursing career at NorWest as a novice nurse with basic building blocks which have prepared me for the beginning of my nursing journey. However, working at NorWest for 27 years, I have had the privilege to learn from and work side-by-side with an exceptional team and clients who have challenged and inspired me. I have learned to be more patient and mindful of what the client wants i.e., to work where the client is or on what the community residents want - not pushing new training the team or I have completed and would like to roll out without the community's or our partners' input.
In essence, it was the community and the team that has further defined my nursing approach to working with at risk populations as my role transitioned from a primary care nurse to leading the primary care team at NorWest. To this day, it is the community - the residents and our families that help our Team determine their needs and gaps in services through community advisories, NorWest Co-op member surveys, focus groups and day to day programming.
What does a typical day look like for you?
As a coordinator of a large inter-professional team and a member of our management team, my day is rarely as it appears on my schedule. Initially in the morning, I try to check in with most of the team members and the management to ensure back-up coverage for programs, review email and sign off on selected requests. I may co-lead one of our team meetings where workflows are reviewed and new programs discussed. I have the pleasure of sitting on numerous committees working on projects such as the Quality Team, and may be attending a meeting, creating an agenda or minutes or working on a policy or workflow in collaboration with others. Throughout the day I try to make myself available to the whole team for any number of issues ranging from supporting a team member with a difficult client issue to participating in a check-in, reviewing an incident or lending an ear as part of a debrief. I may have a scheduled performance conversation with a team member or a new team member orientation or interview. As a coordinator and a Privacy officer, I have also the pleasure of supporting PHIA orientation on our site for new staff and students and support any client or staff concerns.
What motivates you when you face obstacles or challenges?
On a daily basis I am motivated and inspired by the compassion and the collaboration of our Inter-professional team who will go that extra mile to support a client or the community. I am also supported and inspired by our leadership - our ED and coordinators who bring a different lens and innovative approaches in decision-making. It was our leadership and the whole team who has embraced our transition and big move to our new site at Access NorWest and the shift to using new technology of the electronic medical record.
Our strong partnerships and collaboration continue to ensure innovative programming and workflows that better meet the needs of all of our clients.
Nurses give a great deal of themselves in their work, it can be demanding and can be emotionally draining. How do you manage that? Are there specific ways you've found to refuel and recharge?
A nursing career and any career in health can be emotionally challenging. I have been lucky to work in an organization that supports staff wellness and professional development and has over the years brought wellness activities and presentations to help our team find work-life balance. I have been exposed to mindfulness and yoga in my workplace and try to incorporate that in my daily life. Participating in debrief sessions with co-coordinators has also been helpful.
Who have been your mentors? Do you look outside the field of nursing for inspiration? Tell us about your career path?
As a novice nurse, I was drawn to a nursing position in the community and found my dream at NorWest Co-op Community Health. I had passion for health promotion and community nursing and was fortunate to further develop my knowledge and skills at NorWest while working with an inspiring inter-professional health care team and our community.
I had two great mentors who have inspired me during the first years of my nursing career at NorWest -Cheryl Susinski and Bernice Marmel. Cheryl was our past executive director at NorWest and created the original primary care coordinator position and believed in me. Bernice Marmel was our Health Educator and a community activist, who has shown me how to work with vulnerable populations at the grassroots level from the community development perspective.
Over the years, as I transitioned from primary care nursing position to the leadership position of a coordinator, I have been inspired, challenged and motivated daily by our present executive director, our leadership team, our inter-professional primary care team and our clients. Those experiences and opportunities have helped shape my leadership style and be the leader that I am today.
What gets you up in the morning, and keeps you coming back?
I strive daily to inspire, motivate and support our collaborative team (NorWest, WRHA and FS) in better meeting the needs of our clients and out community. I am also inspired daily by the compassion, collaboration and innovation of our team and the strength and resilience of our clients.