A Nurse’s Rewards In Working with the Intellectual, Developmentally Disabled
By Lori E. Switaj
Westlake Patch is spotlighting Westlake nurse Susan Collins as part of National Nurses Week,which runs from May 6 – 12.
A longtime dream of nursing has become a reality for one woman who not only gets to greet patients in their home settings, but gets to teach others the rewards that come with community nursing.
Susan Collins is the newly promoted director of nursing for Welcome House Inc., a 300-employee organization based in Westlake that is dedicated to helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). “I’ve always wanted to do community nursing,” Collins, a North Olmsted resident, said.
After years in retail she went back to school and became a registered nurse in 2011. She joined Welcome House as the assistant director of nursing and was promoted May 1. She now oversees seven nurses who in turn provide care for 160 clients throughout greater Cleveland in more than 25 homes and apartments that span from Bay Village to Lakewood to Solon.
Although she has only with Welcome House for less than two years, she has come to learn and appreciate the clients.
“The challenge is learning different styles,” Collins said. “Some might be verbal or non-verbal. You have to learn what (the clients) are communicating. Sometimes it’s hard to discern what the problem is. You have to get to know the clients and their behavior.”
She understands she is functioning as an advocate for clients so that they can receive optimum health care.
“This is a very important part of my job,” Collins said. “While our clients lead full and independent lives, they do need someone who can rally for them when it comes to issues that they cannot champion for themselves. This is the most rewarding part of my job.”
Welcome House celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012. It has lived up to is the mission of creating an environment where individuals with IDD could live richer, fuller lives. It provides assistance to the mildly disabled who hold down jobs at locations such as Giant Eagle or McDonald’s, to those requiring far more extensive assistance and care. Current clients range in age from 20 to mid 70s.
As a nurse, Collins understands the importance of her position.
“Nurses will always be important because they ensure what the doctors have ordered are followed,” she said.
But interacting with clients provides the greatest reward.
“I walk into houses and they get all excited to see me,” Collins said. “They always have a smile on their faces.”
Both she and Meg Nachtwey, the director of fund development for Welcome House see the continuing need for nurses. Welcome House is entering the market as Welcome House Home Health in providing nursing services for clients in their own homes, not the company’s, living quarters.
“There are 600 on a waiting list for residential services,” Nachtwey said. “You have situations where there are 80-year-old parents with a special needs child who is 50. There are so many people with developmental disabilities, we’re trying to meet the next unmet need.”
The theme of caring and compassion goes far beyond Collins’s commitment to Welcome House….it is a theme that transcends many areas of her life. Collins is a member of the American Red CrossDisaster Action Team and is part of a team of volunteers that is on site at a disaster, assesses damages and helps the victims move forward by providing immediate relief such as hotel accommodations, food and clothing vouchers.
Earlier in her career, Susan worked at the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy center as a Safe and Sound Monitor, managing the visit between the child and the non-custodial parent to ensure that it was safe and secure. She supervised and documented the visit and managed the visit to ensure that non-custodial and custodial parent did not interact, to ensure safety.