The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2024 www.ohca.com 24 PROFILE Michelle Marasigan, RN, Holly Residential Care Center LEADER Michelle Marasigan is a registered nurse working at Holly Residential Care Center in Eugene, Oregon. She won the OHCA Nurse Leader of the Year in CommunityBased Care Award and was recognized at the 2024 OHCA Annual Convention Awards Luncheon. Her leadership has helped her community win the bronze and silver AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards and a recent deficiency free survey. How did you start your career in long term care? I started in skilled nursing when I got my license, but I took a break when I had kids. When I went back to work about two and a half years ago, I started here at Holly Residential Care Center. I actually worked at a hospital for a few months, but then came back here. I saw the difference. At a hospital, it’s very fast-paced and focused on acute patients and stabilizing them. Here, you are trying to prevent the decline of the residents and trying to improve the quality of their lives. So, even if the pace is slower here, you have the opportunity to provide thorough, continuous care. At a hospital, you don’t have any time to sit down and chat with your patients. What is the most rewarding part about working in long term care? Working here gives me an opportunity to create meaningful relationships with the residents and their families. Seeing them thriving or progressing, it feels so good. It is a great feeling when you receive a call about a resident that doesn’t want to talk to anyone else but you. Things like that are rewarding because it shows that you have their trust. What is your leadership style? My leadership style is collaborative and supportive. I empower my team members to give me their ideas, and I let them feel like their ideas and suggestions are being heard. I also support them with their needs. If someone on my team asks me, “Hey, can you cover this floor?” I will do that for them, even if I already have my own routine with all of the documentation and paperwork. We are always brainstorming, and I always get their ideas on what they think about things. We have a monthly meeting with all of the departments, and we have a clinical every day where we talk about any concerns. What piece of advice would you give to RNs starting in long term care? I would say embrace your passion. Your approach should be high patience and high empathy. You should build a relationship with your residents and their families, because that is what is most important. Lean on your colleagues for support and share your knowledge. If Michelle’s leadership has resulted in her community being recognized nationally for their commitment to quality care.
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