Gina Garton, RN, BSN, needed a break. She was exhausted.
After working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a year at Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital during COVID-19, she was ready “to try something outside of a hospital setting.”
In 2021, Her first opportunity came with a facility serving patients with substance-use disorder. When that job didn’t pan out, she decided to take a month off before looking for nursing job in another health care setting.
Taking a Break from Hospital Care
When she was ready to return to work, Gina accepted a position at a facility that offered long-term care. While she loved helping her patients, she felt the leaders did not provide the necessary support to their staff so they could provide the personalized care Gina was used to delivering. That’s when she looked for another job opportunity.
Wanting to continue to use her specific critical-care nursing skills, Gina took a job working in the Emergency Department (ED) of a small community hospital.
“It was very eye-opening for me,” she said. “I was used to my experience at Muskegon Hospital where I had so much support and so many resources.”
After trying two different jobs outside of our health ministry, Gina came to this conclusion: “I missed working at Trinity Health Muskegon. I missed the support and having a team where everybody pitches in. And I always felt our leaders listened to what worked and what didn’t.”
That’s when Gina reached out to her former Muskegon Hospital managers and said, “I want to come home.”
Returning to Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital
As a lifelong resident of Muskegon, Gina has a lot of memories of receiving quality medical care through Trinity Health Muskegon (formerly Mercy Health). She shared a fond memory when, as a 4-year-old, she had her tonsils out.
“One of my earliest memories was when I was in Mercy Hospital for a tonsillectomy. I remember a priest telling me I had to get back in bed…and that, no, I could not have another pop sickle,” she recalled while laughing.
Feeling secure in her decision to return to Muskegon Hospital, Gina is now working in the Progressive Care Unit (PCU). “What an amazing team and positive environment we have,” she said.
Her ultimate goal is to become a float nurse between the PCU, ICU, and ED. “It would be a great opportunity to use all the skills I’ve built over two decades of being a nurse.”
Gratitude for the Work Environment and State-of-the-Art Facility
One of the things Gina appreciates most about the new hospital facility is the private rooms. They promote better rest and healing, she said. “Having a private room along with the ability to have a visitor stay with the patient reduces patient anxiety.”
Team support is another selling point for, as far as Gina is concerned. On the unit where she works now, there is a stand-alone charge nurse who isn’t assigned any patients.
“There is so much support when you are getting an admit. The other night I had a patient who was a really high fall risk and I said we needed to do something about that. They were able to get a one-to-one attendant for the patient. What a fantastic way to keep our patients safe.”
Advice for Nurses Early in Their Careers
When you are trying to decide where to accept a job, you might want to first consider your values. For Gina, the Trinity Health Core Value of “Commitment to Those Who are Poor” is very important.
“I’m a huge advocate for mental health care. I like the fact that Trinity Health communicates our Core Values to the community but also to colleagues in the same way.”
Gina also offers this advice when considering an employer.
- Do what you can to check out the culture.
- Ask to shadow someone so you can see how the teams work together.
- Ask about the onboarding. "I’m so impressed with our education department," she said.
- If there is a nurse extern program, take that opportunity to build your skills.
“It’s the little things that can make your work experience better,” she added. “I’m so impressed with simple things like Epic (Trinity Health’s electronic medical records system) having a place to list someone’s preferred gender…or the fact that I see our chaplain walking through the hospital in the early morning. He always smiles and says hello.”
Parting Thoughts
Other than the year she took off, Gina has worked her entire career at Trinity Health. She loves running into staff she knows from the different departments where she has worked.
“When I returned, it felt like coming home because everybody was so welcoming. I’m proud to work for Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital again.”
Welcome Home is a series of articles featuring colleagues who chose to work at Trinity Health above other organizations, or who left health care and later answered the call to return to a career of service and healing.
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