SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2017 · 5 PROFESSIONAL CAREGIVER FOCUS To be considered, nominees must be healthcare professionals who work directly with patients in the U.S. and have the ability to communicate sensitively with patients and loved ones; listen carefully; provide emotional support and instill hope; respect patients’ values, choices and decisions; and understand the significance of patients’ families and communities. That fits Fagan perfectly, Durham said. “He just goes the extra mile,” she said. “He takes the initiative to make people comfortable. What makes him stand out is that he has compassion for everyone — his coworkers, patients, the patients’ families. It doesn’t matter who you are or what role you have, his desire to ensure your comfort is always his motive.” Fagan has worked in health care for 28 years after working in restaurants prior to that. Before working in restaurants, he served in both the Army and Marines, which helps him relate to his patients and vice versa. His entry into the health care field came about rather by chance and curiosity. It was in the 1980s in Rochester, he said, when he was at a Burger King across from a Holiday Inn and noticed a bunch of cars parked across the street. He wanted to know what was going on, so he walked across the street, went inside and a woman greeted him asking if he was interested in becoming a CNA. “I said, ‘What is that?’ I had no idea,” he said. “So she explained it to me and said if I was interested to come on down to St. Ann’s, and she’d talk to me and we’d see. I did, and they hired me.” Back then, he said, becoming a certified nursing assistant required a 100-hour class. He was the only man in a class of 15. His first day on the job at St. Ann’s nursing home, he was assigned an Italian lady, he remembered, who was 100 years old and no taller than 4-foot-11. She immediately referred to him as her husband and continued to do so whenever she saw him. He never corrected her, he said, because if she thought he was her husband, and she had good memories of him, then why not just go with it? He took to the job immediately. “I really did like it,” he said. “If you’re able to do something for our most vulnerable, who can no longer do those everyday things for themselves, that can give you some fulfillment because you’re lifting up someone else.” Fagan got his start working at the VA in 2003. He wanted a job with the VA for years, he said, but no one could ever seem to be able to tell him how to get one. He used to go to the VA in Buffalo, N.Y., for his own medical care. One day, he got lost and ended up in human resources. “I’m like, ‘Hey, since I’m here, how do I get a job here?’” he said. He got the address of a website and was hired two weeks after he applied. Fagan then was offered a job with the VA in Butler in 2012 and came to the Oakland facility in 2014. Working alongside like-minded people everyday is one of the things Fagan loves about the job. Dr. T.J. Walk, who is one of the primary doctors Fagan works with, said he isn’t surprised that Fagan is a finalist for the award. “The patients forget who I am sometimes,” he said. “They remember who he is. I’m just the next one down the line.” Enjoying the work doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Fagan not only sees veterans both young and old who have been wounded or are gravely ill, but also those who are having trouble financially, who don’t have enough to eat and who are homeless. “It does (get to you sometimes), but the thing you have to remember is that you do the best that you can, every day that you’re here, every moment that you’re here,” said Fagan, who at times has bought clothing, shoes and other items for struggling patients and their children. “You give these veterans everything you have. Sometimes when I leave here, I am so exhausted all I want to do is just go home and go to sleep because I’ve left everything here, and sometimes their stories are heartbreaking. But you just try to lift them up and tell them to remember it’s a moment in time, and you can get past this moment in time.” The No. 1 quality a good caregiver needs Personal Care Home 724.744.3200 Fax 724.744.3230 724.863.6600 Fax 724.863.8686 3522 Route 130, Irwin, PA Walter D. Beam, D.O. • Owner Amanda Beam • Administrator We Offer Both Personal Care &Independent Living Residences at Both Locations. 1015 Pennsylvania Ave., Irwin, PA Walter D. Beam, D.O. • Owner Kathy Silko • Administrator Please Call to Schedule aVisit with Either Facility. adno=6523222 Bethlen Communities is a non-profit, faith-based Continuing Care Retirement Community that offers: • Bethlen Home Skilled Nursing & Rehab • Ligonier Gardens Personal Care &Retirement Center • Home Health and Hospice • In-Home Companion Caregiver Services • Independent Living Retirement Community • Graceful Aging Wellness Center 125 Kalassay Drive • Ligonier, PA • 724-238-2235 x31 www.bethlen.com • info@bethlen.com adno=6523007 ce Ask about our new Independent Living Community... Ligonier Heights!
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