"I am Professional" 

Patti became a Lactation Counselor prior to SSM starting their Baby Friendly Initiative.  Patti took classes to become a CLC or Lactation Counselor around 2017. Patti took it upon herself to get the additional training to help our breastfeeding Moms. Since SSM became Baby Friendly in 2019 Patti has been answering calls on our Lactation Line as well as her regular Triage calls in OBGYN.

"I am an Advocate"

Prior to coming to SSM Patti worked at MATC in the nursing skills lab checking new nurses off on their clinical skills. She did a great deal of nursing education in this role. She also was a substitute teacher for their nursing classes.

Patti also worked as a Charge Nurse in West OBGYN for many years orienting new clinical staff. She continues to share her vast OBGYN knowledge with new staff at West. Patti wrote many Protocols some are still used today and have been tweaked over the years. 

"I am a Partner"  

When Patti did surgical teaching for Dr. Haag most of her surgical cases were on Fridays. Patti called everyone on Monday morning to see how they were feeling. She also would call anyone that had an in-office procedure. She is always compassionate and kind.

"I am Accountable"

As one of our other co-workers said "Patti holds us all accountable". If Patti ever makes an error she wants to know because she wants to do things the right way. We are all expected to have good attendance and do a thorough job like her. 

"I am a Leader" 

Every day Patti is at work she exhibits extreme professionalism. She is always dressed professionally and is well put together. She is early every day and stays late to finish work if needed. She never calls in. Everything Patti does is per Protocol and it is done the right way. As a new nurse learning Telephone Triage she taught me to always cover all of my bases. Many nurses have learned thorough triage from her as well as all the precautions to have our patients take for their safety and covering any worse-case scenarios.

Patti Devries has been a reliable leader and loyal team member for 18 years in West OBGYN.  She rises above the expectations of the job.

She started her nursing career in Canada in 1980. She worked in hospitals in Toronto and Winnipeg. Her first job was in Med/Surg, then she worked in the ER and Cardiology. As a young mother, Patti moved to the United States with her family and started working at MATC in the skills lab and substitute teaching. Her next position was here at the West Clinic a few short blocks from her home. 

After a few years here at West she quickly became the Charge Nurse managing day-to-day operations in OBGYN.  As stated above Patti is incredibly professional. Before scrubs were required in Triage Patti always wore them along with her Danskos. Patti rarely misses work. We can always count on her to get here in a blizzard since she is only a few blocks away. There was even a year when the roads were so bad she walked here in the snow in her boots.

In our department, we gave her the nickname "Protocol Patti" because everything she does is by protocol. She has also written many protocols for our Department which have been tweaked over the years.

Patti made the first Epic Downtime binder in our department after the first time our new Epic went down. 
She has helped train many new staff members at SSM Health in OBGYN. She trained me as a new RN in triage and taught me to think of every possible scenario.

When Patti first started here she was a RN for Dr. Haag. She spent at least an hour with all of Dr. Haag's New OBs going over prenatal education at an in person visit. Prior to that, all education was done during New OB appointments. Now everyone has a prenatal phone call that goes over information on pregnancy as well as education.  When she was primarily Dr. Haag's staff she called all of Dr. Haag's surgical patient's a couple days after surgery to make sure their recovery was going well. For a time she called all of the OB patients after they delivered as well.

Patti is passionate about Lactation and took the steps to become a Lactation Counselor before we were baby friendly. Prior to having Lactation Counselors like Patti, pregnant moms only had Lactation staff at the Hospital. Patti still answers lactation questions over the phone to assist in successful breastfeeding. Prior to SSM Health DMG having Lactation Consultants who see patients, Patti would have struggling mothers come into the clinic to see her. 

Patti always has a list of patients she wants to check on. She uses her list to make sure she watches for their labs, and medical imaging, or she uses her list to make sure they come back for their follow-up.

This last week we had a patient that had a possible miscarriage. Patti was incredibly compassionate and spent over an hour with the patient making sure all of her questions were answered and that the patient had a plan moving forward. She also supplied the patient with additional educational materials. She exemplifies our company's mission statement. I am sure this patient is written on Patti's list of people to watch and make sure they are followed up on. 

Patti is always calm even when patients are not. 
She is a wealth of knowledge! On the off chance she does not know something she researches the topic and will reach out to the experts to give our patient's the best care and resources.