Cathy Strohl reflects on 30 years in health care

Published 8:30 am Thursday, June 23, 2016

Since 1986, North Bend’s Cathy Strohl has been providing care for people with dementia and people transitioning out of the hospital at Providence Marianwood Nursing Home in Issaquah.

Strohl, a lifelong North Bend resident, had become disillusioned with her work in administration and wanted to find something more fulfilling.

She had taken care of a number of family members in poor health and realized she greatly enjoyed helping people.

Strohl was hired as a nursing assistant at the newly opened Providence Marianwood Nursing Home in November of 1986. In January, only a few months after starting at the nursing home, Strohl helped to open the nursing home’s special care unit for patients with dementia, which operated until 2012.

Difficult work, but rewarding

In addition to the physical treatment given to patients, staff had to work with the mental health of their patients. Strohl said it was difficult but ultimately very rewarding.

“There is the mental health issue with dementia care, they don’t remember, their short-term memory is pretty shot but their long-term is still intact,” she said.

“That’s really hard for families to deal with, we not only had patients to deal with but family members as well.”

Strohl explained that working with both the patients and their families felt like a community working together to help those in need.

“I liked that aspect. It made it very family oriented to me. The unit was a big family and the family members were a part of that family with the patients and nurses,” she said.

“That’s where my heart really is, I would probably still be doing that.”

Transition in caregiving

The special care unit was shut down in early 2012 due to trends of the industry suggesting that these patients would be better served as part of the general population instead of being in a nursing home, Strohl said.

The special care unit was then converted into a transitional care unit to work with patients who were ready to leave the hospital, but still not ready to go home and resume their normal activities.

Strohl said this adjustment was challenging in a very different way from dementia care. Every patient was different and had different needs from a dementia patient.

“You have people who have joint replacements, heart issues, breathing issues, all sorts of issues, there is a lot more difficulty involved,” she said. “They are too high functioning for the hospital but not ready to go home yet so they come here to get back on their feet.”

Strohl spent some time working in that unit before moving to other departments, like the medical records department, within Providence Marianwood.

‘Called to do this work’

She described herself as a jack-of-all-trades as she got involved with many different aspects of the nursing home.

She worked in one unit for so long, she eventually was offered the position of admissions clerk, where she works today.

Strohl reflected on her time at Providence Marianwood and concluded that she stayed there for 30 years because of the work, but also because of the people, which was an important factor for her.

“I think the best thing I can say is I think I was called to do this work, it’s what I was designed to do,” she said. “I had no idea that I would ever stay in any job longer than 10 years and to realize I’ve been here for 30 years…

“The reason I stayed is because it’s a family, we function as a family, we know each other very well and we support each other.”