SPEAKER_00 0:00

So just as a quick warm-up, would you like to introduce yourself, your name, role, and like what inspired you to join Havenwood? Okay. My name is Megan Quintana. I am a nurse here at Havenwood, specifically in LPN. What inspired me? I like to say that I grew up in a foster home, but my mom was actually like my biological mom was the foster mom. And so I grew up with girls just like this here in Havenwood as my sisters. We played together, we watched movies. I feel comfortable here because and it feels like home because this is how I grew up. Okay, so sort of your role and calling, what sort of called you to trauma treatment and what keeps you here? So when I started school as a nurse, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I had worked in the hospital before. And for some reason, they always sent me to be BMED, which is a behavioral medicine unit. I was kind of a floater, I just floated around. But it was always short staffed. There were not really a lot of people. And I've kind of noticed that's how it is in general, especially in a rural place like this. I also have some family people in my family who have had significant trauma in their past. And it's something that I was have been able to help them work through as well. And so it kind of hits close to home with trauma treatment. And there were a lot of things that came together to bring me here to Havenwood. I can't even begin to. I mean, it started when I was young, and my mom was heavily into trauma treatment to just recently with family members. And so what does a sort of Havenwood day look like for you? It depends on the day because let's see, let's go through a Monday. Mondays is a day that we usually set appointments in for dental or vision. So we'll take two or three kids off campus and go get their six-month or yearly routine cleanings or vision checks completed. When we're done with that, we have all of the paperwork to do and getting a hold of the parents and the insurances and things like that. Then we'll have lunch and at about 1.30, all of our medications come. So we have over 50 kids right now. Each of them, we have a week's worth of meds that come. So we have over 50 packs plus all of their as needed medications that come in and we have to go through each and every medication to make sure that what they're given, what has been packed, is prescribed. And that takes the majority of the afternoon. And by about 4:30, we kind of do a nurse team huddle and catch everyone up on the weekend and what the week looks like. We have, I would say, six and a half people on our team. We have one girl that only comes in once a week or every few weeks. But anyway, so that's a Monday. Every day is different. Totally fair. Okay. So how does your role impact a student's healing or sort of sense of safety? Do you feel? Let's see. I've had girls come in who don't have anybody. They're in the foster system. They have caseworkers. I can't say they don't have anybody because they do have people who care about them and care about what they're doing in their lives. But they come in with issues that are not usually answered by, they usually are answered by a parent. Things like questions about puberty and just menstruation, things like that. And I feel like that connection with them and being able to build that relationship in a very vulnerable time in their life is very impactful. It's impactful to me, if nothing else. I get to see them grow and turn into the young women, the beautiful young women that they are. Amazing. And just sort of moving into the category of sort of what makes Havenwood different, what does class trauma treatment look like in your role? In my role, one thing that we tell the kids a lot is that you're not going to have a nurse down the hall when you leave Havenwood. And so I do my absolute best to help educate them and prepare them for what's outside of here, but for their life in general from a medical standpoint. I think that world class means taking the time to do that when it's not, I would say, necessary for their trauma treatment. I definitely bandage horm wounds and a lot of things in the acute environment, but giving them those tools and those options to help them after Havenwood, I think that's world class. Yeah. Moving on, sort of what is one ritual innovation or cultural piece that you love at Havenwood? We are asked to post a continuous improvement every single day. And in the beginning, that was very difficult for me. It was hard to find out what I was doing that was actually continuously improving and not just my job. As I've really worked on that and worked on coming up with continuous improvements, I love it. I love being able to fix the systems that I have to make them more efficient, to make them easier, to make them just better all around. And it has become a ritual. And it is definitely a cultural thing that we've created here at Havenwood. Awesome. Just moving to a different category. What is something that helps you reset on like any kind of tough day you might have? I have really great co-workers. I really do. Who are, if they see that I am upset or if I'm having a bad day, they'll stop me and say, hey, do you want to talk? Hey, do you want to just sit in my office for a moment? And I think that support and that team environment is huge, especially when I have when I'm having a bad day, because I don't feel like it's just me. I'm carrying all this alone. I have multiple people that I can reach out to. For sure. Wow. So what has this experience taught you about healing? Oh, so much. I think that it has taught me that healing does not just come from one person or one experience. With these girls, it takes a whole team to help them and to prepare them to work through the things that they've been through to heal truly. Healing doesn't just, it's not just therapy. It's not just medical, it's not a physical healing. It's just so many things that come together to create this holistic healing environment that is Havenwood Academy. Yeah. Amazing. So sort of just the next category, sort of fun lightning round. What is your favorite Havenwood tradition or inside joke? Oh, okay. My favorite Havenwood tradition. I love food. I love food. And every single Wednesday, I tell people this all the time. We have Sandwich Day. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but I literally look forward to Sandwich Day. And let's see, last week they did hamburgers. They grilled on Sandwich Day. I was very offended. It's funny. What is your go-to snack or coping skill on long shifts? Okay, so my boss, Siobhan, is like snack queen, which I got super lucky because there is a whole, don't tell anyone this. There is a whole cabinet right behind me packed full of snacks. And she keeps Cheez-Its in there literally for me. So that's definitely my go-to. That's so funny. Cheese-Its are good. They're good. What is one surprising fact about you? Oh, surprising fact. Let's see. It didn't seem very surprising to me, but every time I say this, people are surprised. But I used to work in underground mines. I was an EMT there. And so I worked on Mine Rescue. It was really cool. It's a definitely a different environment in healthcare, but it was super fun. Oh my goodness. And just moving on to sort of the closing reflections, do you have any message or something for staff, students, and our families? I think the biggest thing, probably something that I tell our guests often is don't struggle alone. There's so many people here to help. A lot of times they'll come in, even if it's from a sliver, and they had they said that they've had it for a week. I'm like, please tell me, please tell me, we can help. And if it's something or if it's harder for them to figure that out, to figure out how to share that, I feel like there are people that will listen. For sure. And just for the last question, anything exciting on the horizon? Right now, Havenwood is hiring for a night nurse. And so send your referrals. And that's something that we've been kind of spotty at is we always have somebody on call, but we're hopefully going to have a full time night nurse soon. Very nice. Okay. Awesome.