HRS' Clinical Services team, composed of a team of nurses, provides clinical guidance and support to HRS clients. Their goal is to ensure every program is operating with clinical best practices in mind.
In addition to supporting client programs day-to-day, the Clinical Services team lends their expertise to the development of the product roadmap and solution innovation.To introduce themselves, each member of the team sat down to tell their story in nursing, and reflect on how they landed at HRS.
Bernadette Cooper, RN, BSN, MBA, CCM
Director of Value Based Care, Clinical Operations
It is amazing how the table of life leaves breadcrumbs to lead us to the here and now. My career in nursing is a great example of that. It all started with just wanting to prove that I could actually finish something I started, a new life as a mom and a four year degree at the same time. There was a lot of doubt back then but a few bread crumbs along the way reassured me I was on the right path.
Nursing was my service, an outlet for my passion for giving back to the community and expression of my life’s purpose. Back then I thought, I will show my patient’s and the world for that matter, that I will make my mark in this place. Little did I know that through my journey, nursing did more for me than I could ever do for it. For every patient that I helped, gave attention to, educated, supported, gave a sigh of relief, or even a hand of hope, what my patient’s did for me in filling my cup, gave me the strength to go another day. If you are to survive in life you have to fill your cup with love, joy, patience and compassion. Working in the emergency room teaches you, especially after COVID, that life can change at any moment and every breath you take matters.
So each day that I showed up for work at the nursing home, hospital, clinic, home health agency or reinventing myself in the cubicle world of case management to now, my desk to work at home, every role has prepared me to be a bigger and better service than the role before.
I did take a detour once, thinking I could escape by owning 2 trucks, 18 wheelers to ride along across the country. It was an experience, but after a few years I felt a huge void, emptiness in my life. I eventually discovered that quietly assessing passersbys and doing health education for truckers at rest stops along I-95 was a signal that I was away from my assignment, my passion for service. I decided to re-enter the workforce and find a path to value based care where quality is put above quantity. Healthcare was finally speaking my language. Life was leaving me a breadcrumb. It led me here. Nursing is still filling my cup.
Dori Milburn, BSN, RN
Director of Clinical Services
When I started nursing, I never thought I’d be away from the bedside. I was an ICU nurse when I was in a car accident that broke my back. During my recovery, I spoke with a colleague who shared how she was working part time doing telemedicine and how exciting the field was. My interest was piqued. After a few shifts back on the floor and worrying about long term effects, I made the hard decision to leave the bedside and started as a telemedicine nurse. My company assisted in triaging psych, neuro and ICU patients for the largest PSO. While I worked in an area that readily had access to these various specialists, not everyone did and telemedicine was a way to ensure patients could access the care they needed. This allowed me to see how the use of telemedicine had the power to assist a far greater number of patients. During my time there I became comfortable with the software and process aspect and what allowed our telemedicine program to succeed.
I wanted to have a greater impact and transitioned to a telemedicine SaaS company and served as their first clinical expert, assisting on the sales team. They saw the value in having a nurse on the team to provide that direct knowledge. I enjoyed working with clients to learn more about their offering and assist in providing my clinical knowledge to show how our hardware and software would fit their needs. Each client had a unique vision and use case, that we would need to tailor the offering to. No two patients are the same and this is no different with clients. From this position, I moved to a different SaaS company and again, was their first and only employee with clinical experience.There, I was able to have a larger impact, assisting in the sales process, product development, client implementation, account management, client support and process improvement.
As a nurse, we learn to juggle various priorities and remain focused and efficient—this carries over from the bedside. Each of these roles has allowed me to hone my skills while also enhancing my desire to continue to serve patients. I love using my problem solving and analytical skills to assist in creating successful telemedicine programs. While I may no longer be at the bedside or directly treating patients, I feel am able to assist and be part of far more patients care, through our clients use of telemedicine. The accident was life changing, but in the very best way! I have been able to spend more time with my family, work with dynamic companies all while continuing to make a difference in the lives of patients. I am excited to see what the future holds for the Clinical Services Team at HRS and honored to be a nurse and part of the team.
Jenna Kowalski BSN, MBA, ACHM
Director of Clinical Services
Sometimes I look back and wonder how did I get to this place in my career? How did I end up working at home as a nurse? I thought for too many years that nursing was only at the bedside, that if the work was not busy and chaotic that it was not really nursing. I have been a nurse for over 17 years and in that time, I have worked directly at the bedside or educated/managed those who were at the bedside. I thought that this was the only way to find fulfilling, purposeful work. Boy was I wrong…
As time passed, COVID allowed me to hit the pause button, to really take a deep dive into what I wanted out of my career. Today I have moved my career in a completely different direction thanks to the opportunity afforded to me by Health Recovery Solutions. I now work from home as the Director of Clinical Services for Health Recovery Solutions. It is a job that is both purposeful and fulfilling, without the chaos and stress of working in direct patient care. It allows me to work with clinicians from health systems across the country-coaching them on how to improve and optimize their Remote Patient Monitoring programs with the goal of improved patient outcomes as well as improved patient and staff satisfaction. I utilize my nursing experience and judgement every day in a way that I did not know was possible; Utilizing technology in an amazing way as a nurse to keep people out of the hospital.
I had always planned on one path for my career and that was my destination…today I feel that along that journey, I was fortunate enough to discover another path and life has never been sweeter!
Rosemarie Domingo, RN, BS
Senior Implementation Manager
Some nurses always knew they would become a nurse and other nurses have taken a longer path to becoming a nurse. I am the latter. My unconventional journey to being a nurse has given me a wealth of knowledge and the ability to see healthcare through a different lens.
After completing my first degree in Biology at the University of Dallas, I was eager to enter the workforce. I was not interested in more school and was "ready" to be independent. After graduation, my first job was as a lab assistant in an infectious disease lab. My job was to prepare samples for specific diagnostic tests for hospitals in the DFW area. Though I enjoyed the laboratory environment, I realized I wanted to play a more active role in caring for people. From there, I worked for a company that partnered with primary care providers to offer allergy testing and immunotherapy to their patients. This position exposed me to direct patient care for the first time, and I loved it. My favorite part of the day was getting to know patients, spending time to talk with them, and being part of the team that improved their quality of life. However, as I worked more closely with patients, I realized that healthcare is more than just making a patient feel better. At this point, I wanted to expand my knowledge of care and become a nurse. I applied to nursing school to hopefully have a chance at making a difference in the lives of others.
I was not accepted the first time I applied, so in the meantime, I continued to advance in my career. By the time I received my long-desired acceptance letter, after three attempts, I had entered into the technologically focused side of healthcare with a healthcare IT company. I worked at the healthcare IT company as an account manager while I completed my nursing degree. As an account manager I learned about medical policy, payer relations and most importantly, I was able to see the symbiotic relationship between technology and healthcare. This symbiotic relationship continued to inspire me to become a nurse so I can take this insight and apply it to patient care.
When I graduated from nursing school, my goal was to find a way to bring both the technological world and the healthcare world together. I spent some time as a bedside nurse in a rehabilitation hospital. Through luck or fate, I was made aware of a position with a healthcare technology company specializing in remote patient monitoring, Health Recovery Solutions.
The longer, unconventional journey to becoming a nurse has given me a unique insight into healthcare and empowered me to take the profession of nursing outside of the hospital setting. I am proud to say that I am a nurse and celebrate all nurses. Happy Nurses Week!
