“I made the greatest choice of my life becoming a nurse.”
Before becoming a nurse, Elliot owned a restaurant in Bloomsburg, Pa.
“I woke up one day and decided I needed to do something different with my life,” he says.
He still chose a life of service and helping others, just in a different way. After working in several different roles for almost a decade, he became director of the intensive care unit at UPMC Williamsport in May 2021.
At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic was in its second year. And Elliot made sure to be there for his nursing staff. He organized mentor groups and encouraged staff to use their paid time off.
“The ICU’s been a really intense place over the last couple of years,” Elliot says. “I believe I made the greatest choice of my life becoming a nurse. I also believe that my job as a director is focusing on our staff.
“We’re nurses, we’re family, we take care of each other, but mostly, I have to remind them to take care of themselves.”
In addition to managing the staff of the ICU, Elliot also works alongside them on the floor. He tries to be a responsive leader and provide his staff with honesty, transparency, and trust.
“I’m dedicated to making sure they have what they need to do their job and take care of our patients,” he says.
The ICU cares for many of the most critically ill patients in the hospital. Elliot says he appreciates the opportunity to help them get better – or to provide comforting care.
“We see people come in here that can’t move their arms and legs, and they walk out of here,” he says. “We see people that come in here that struggle for months and months and leave to go to rehabilitation and walk back through our doors to visit. That on a daily basis is life-changing for me.”
At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means being there for others, no matter what.
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