Her first patient was her mother after she was severely injured after a drunk driver rammed her vehicle and rendered her bedridden for an extended time.
Julie Ross, the youngest of three children raised in Barnesville, was her nurse. And something clicked.
Ross has served as interim chief operations officer for East Ohio Regional Hospital since Bernie Albertini resigned from the position in September, but his healthcare career began more than 30 years ago. Albertini navigated the medical facility’s resurrection beginning in 2021 after more than 20 years at both OVMC and EORH.
Albertini is one of five members of the Ohio County Board of Education.
“When I learned about Bernie resigning, I knew the clinical portion of his job pretty well, but it did hit me hard that I suddenly had hundreds of employees hanging on my every word. That was new for me,” Ross admitted. “I was immediately grateful for having God’s grace guiding me, and I was thankful I grew up in a Christian family. My faith pulled me through the first few days.
“I also knew I had our team here who has battled through so many challenging times since our re-opening,” she said. “So, yes, there was a learning curve as far as the operational side of things, but we’ve all helped each other and here we are. We owe Bernie everything as far as getting this place open again and getting us all inside these walls, but we knew he wouldn’t be here forever. It’s our turn now, and I believe it’s going well.”
Ross was a Shamrocks cheerleader back in the 1980s and has always been an outgoing soul while working as a medical assistant. That’s continued ever since.
“Very early on in health care, I learned the importance of the role a nurse plays. I didn’t have a lot of mentors, but I knew what it meant to be a nurse because of how long I took care of my mother after her accident,” the administrator explained. “That’s why I have always been open to being a mentor to our younger employees no what department they work in. It’s important for someone with experience to share their knowledge.
“My goal is to be the mentor I never had because that wasn’t a thing back then, For the most part, people just went to work and did their job, and then went home,” she said. “The legacy you leave means something, and that’s why I will always share the knowledge I have now after being in health care for the past 30 years.”
Those Special Moments
His name was Sammy, and he was in his 80s when Julie first met him. Sammy suffered from Alzheimer’s.
“It was early in my career and I was working with in geriatrics when I encountered him. I’ve never forget it,” Ross recalled. “He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and he would just sit alone every day, so I made friends with Sammy and he became my helper in the unit.
“I bought him a desk and gave him some office supplies, and he loved it,” she said. “He would have a list for more every morning about what happened the facility at night,” he said. “One day when I took him to the restroom, he grabbed my hand and said, ‘Julie, I’ve got Alzheimer’s.’ And he said, ‘I’ll probably forget your name some day, but I’ll never forget the care that you provided.’”
Sammy made an impact.
“He was just a wonderful man, and I know I had a positive impact on him and his quality of life,” Ross said. “There was that moment when I knew taking care of people when they need it the most was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
These days, though, Ross needs her team to accomplish the same goals she always had as a nurse.
“Health care is a very difficult field to be in right now, but knowing someone’s life has been altered for the better is one of the most rewarding things anyone can feel, I believe. I know it’s been overwhelming for me sometimes because it’s the best feeling I could ever experience,” Ross explained. “There are days when I need to hear those stories about how our people are making a difference in the lives of our patients and their families.
“I am on a mission to make sure we’re accomplishing everything we need to on a daily basis, and that means touching base with people throughout the entire hospital,” she explained. “That’s a little different for me, but I’m a people person and loving connecting with everyone on the team.”
