Liz Cortes Perez has been working as a Spanish interpreter at the IU Health academic health center since May. Before joining IU Health, she first discovered a passion for interpretation while working at the front desk of an urgent care clinic. “That’s when I realized I wanted to work in interpretation services,” she says. “[Co-workers] would ask me to help interpret when they couldn’t understand a patient. That’s when my passion first came,” she says. Now, she loves her job interpreting for patients at Methodist Hospital, University Hospital and Riley Children’s Health. She enjoys connecting with patients and helping them gain a strong understanding of the care they are receiving. “Patients are always very grateful that we are there to help them. And same with providers—they really care about interpreters,” she says. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health by visiting iuhealth.org/careers
Two IU Health doctors and a nurse recently joined Task Force 1, aiding in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The storms caused extensive damage in Florida and North Carolina communities. Task Force 1 is a highly trained group that responds to natural and manmade disasters. IU Health team members included Dr. Christian Strachan, Nurse Kyle Fleck, and Dr. Andrew Watters. All three have extensive experience in emergency medicine. Strachan described their role working with FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR): “For physicians and paramedics who are part of the USAR teams we have specific tasks, such as medical care for rescue personnel and victims. This includes treating injuries, performing triage, managing acute medical conditions, and stabilizing critical patients before they are evacuated.” As rescuers from across the country made their way to Florida and North Carolina, the three IU Health team members helped monitor workers for signs of fatigue, heat stress, dehydration, and other potential medical conditions. Drs. Watters and Strachan served as “Medical Team Managers;” Fleck served as a “Medical Specialist.” Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health by visiting iuhealth.org/careers
Barb Gillaspy might not have memories of her earliest days at Riley Hospital for Children, but the hospital and all of IU Health are a big part of her life. She was just a baby when doctors diagnosed her with a heart murmur and recommended she be seen at Riley, three hours away from the family’s Jasper, Indiana, home. Her heart condition eventually became more serious, and as a kindergartner in 1973, she would go on to have open-heart surgery by renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Harold King at Riley to repair the four heart defects associated with tetralogy of Fallot. Eventually, she transitioned to adult cardiology care within the Downtown Indianapolis hospital system and earned a nursing degree from Indiana State University. She worked as a travel nurse around the country for a few years, before coming to Indianapolis and starting work at what was then Indiana University Hospital in 1991. Since 2011, Gillaspy has worked at IU Health Methodist Hospital in the outpatient kidney disease clinic. Early in her time there, the clinic also sometimes saw cardiovascular patients, including those with congenital heart defects like what she had experienced.
It was a birthday party for the ages as Riley Children's Health celebrated a century of delivering world-class care to pediatric patients. Hundreds attended the festivities, including Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, who declared October 7th, 2024 as Riley Children's Health Day in the city of Indianapolis. "For a hundred years now the city of Indianapolis has been proud to be the home of Riley Children's Health," said Mayor Hogsett. "Having such a renowned center for pediatric care right in our own backyard is an invaluable asset to this city." Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health by visiting iuhealth.org/careers
Liz Scales, BSN, RN, CAPA, began her career at what is now IU Health University Hospital in 1973. In June, she will have worked as a nurse at the hospital for 51 years. She is currently the most tenured nurse at the IU Health adult academic health center. Finding her calling Scales always wanted to be a nurse. When she was seven years old, she drew two pictures to represent two goals for her life: one about becoming a nurse and one about getting married. “I turned out to be a nurse and I never got married,” she says with a laugh. “Who knows where I’d be if I’d gotten married.” Right from the beginning, while she was in nursing school in the 1970s at Marion County General School of Nursing, she “went straight into the blizzard.” Her teachers identified her as a strong student and would assign her two patients in the ICU when all other students only ever had one. She also delivered a baby while she was a nursing student and working on a labor and delivery unit. Scales began her career at what is now IU Health University Hospital in the surgical intensive care unit, where most patients were open heart surgery patients. After 12 years she began working with the anesthesia department, where she worked for another 21 years before moving to pre-op in 2007. Now, she works in pre-admission testing. Read more of Liz's story by visiting the IU Health thrive blog link below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health & Riley Children's by visiting iuhealth.org/careers.
Bianca Taylor is the unit secretary for one of Methodist Hospital's critical care units. Before stepping into this role she worked in environmental services for close to 20 years. "My supervisor asked me if I wanted to [make the move to unit secretary]. He thought I would make a good candidate and I just said yea, I'll go for it." Learn more about Bianca's experience as an IU Health team member by watching her spotlight video in the link below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health & Riley Children's Health by visiting: iuhealth.org/careers
Ben Withers is a nurse on Methodist Hospital's cardiac medical critical care unit. He cares for some of the sickest patients in Indiana. He's also part of the hospital system's nursing professional governance team that works to improve nursing and patient care in our hospitals. "I just love the nurses that I work with. They are so passionate and, especially at the level of care that we are, we have to be on our game and I just love being able to trust my coworkers that they have the knowledge and the desire and the work ethic and the team work to not let me drown when things are getting rough. I would go to bat for these people any day." Learn more about Ben's experience as a nurse at IU Health by visiting the link below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health by visiting iuhealth.org/careers.
ollowing a comprehensive review process that began more than three years ago, Indiana University Health West Hospital has attained Magnet with Distinction recognition. This is the third time IU Health West has achieved Magnet, and the first time the hospital has earned Magnet with Distinction. This achievement from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice. Less than 10 percent of hospitals across the United States have earned Magnet status. Even fewer have earned Magnet Recognition with Distinction, a new ANCC designation recognizing the highest performing Magnet organizations around the world. Magnet with Distinction celebrates hospitals and healthcare organizations that exceed the scoring thresholds required to attain Magnet designation. It raises the bar to recognize top-tier organizations that have achieved the highest level of nursing excellence while addressing emerging challenges and changes in health care moving forward. “Magnet recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects our commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to this community,” said Kapri Ames, chief nursing officer at IU Health West. Visit our blog to continue the story & watch a video of IU Health West team members learning they received this honor. Exploring inspiring & meaningful careers at IU Health by visiting: iuhealth.org/careers
Nurses from across the IU Health Indianapolis Suburban Region—which includes IU Health North, Saxony, Tipton and West hospitals—share why they became certified and what they're most proud of. March 19 is Certified Nurses Day—a worldwide day of recognition to honor certified nurses everywhere and thank them for their dedication, achievements and commitment to patient safety. Certified nurses across IU Health's Indianapolis Suburban Region share why they became certified nurses and what they’re most proud of in their careers. Click our blog link below to read more about each of our featured nurses and their "why." Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at iuhealth.org/careers.
Jeffson Saint-Hilaire took a legal leap of faith one year ago this week and moved to Indianapolis from his homeland of Haiti. He left behind his mother, two sisters and friends, but also a country ravaged by natural disasters, political instability and violence. Now, the 25-year-old has a new home – in Indianapolis and at IU Health, where he is the newest interpreter on a team of a half-dozen based at Riley Hospital for Children. Language services is housed in the basement of the Riley Outpatient Center garage, but Saint-Hilaire and his colleagues are out and about every day at Riley, Methodist and University hospitals. Currently, there are 18 team members in language services, covering the three Downtown hospitals. There, they work with care teams, patients and families to communicate medical information and questions in the patient’s native language. Saint-Hilaire, who interprets for a growing local Haitian population that speaks Haitian Creole, began studying English and working as an interpreter while attending university in Haiti. “I was interpreting back in Haiti, but I was just doing it as a passion,” he said. “I never knew it was going to be a career until I got here and saw the great influx of Haitians. I discovered it was a special ability, so when I moved here, I trained to be a medical interpreter.” Read more about Jefferson's story by visiting our blog listed below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at iuhealth.org/careers
