By Kathryn Millhorn

An emergency medical crisis is one of life’s scariest experiences. Whether for yourself or a family member, trips to the ER are overwhelming and full of unknowns. At Harbor Regional Health, their new Emergency Department Director Nicole Simons works to keep patients safe, supported, informed and cared for during the duration of their stay.

Nicole Simons moved to Washington for college and immediately fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. “For the past 21 years, I have lived all over the Puget Sound area. I always loved the smaller town feel and moved out to Montesano in 2016. I think Grays Harbor is a great place to live and work and most importantly a great place to raise a family.”

Simons has a passion for her work, and it shows. “Since, moving to Grays Harbor, it has been very important to me to use my skills towards improving health care delivery for my family, friends and community at large,” she explains. “From 2016 to 2020, I was the Manager of Nursing Services at Summit Pacific. In that position, I gained many skills in rural hospital leadership and fostered strong partnerships with other community leaders working to improve health care for Grays Harbor residents.”

These relationships served her well. “It was from these community partnerships that I learned of the job opening for the Emergency Department Director at Harbor Regional,” Simons continues. “After having the opportunity to discuss the position with the newly appointed CNO, Dori Unterseher, I was excited to apply for a position where the executive leadership is passionate about improving the care experience for both the patients who need care and the staff who have committed their careers to serving the community. Thankfully, they saw my skill set as match for the position and I started as Emergency Department Director mid-May of this year.”

A career in nursing has provided Simons with a variety of experiences, roles and ways to help. “The wonderful thing about nursing is that there are many different health care environments and specialties to choose from. Prior to obtaining my nursing degree, I worked as a CNA in pediatric healthcare environments. I originally thought my RN career path would be similar in pediatrics or labor and delivery.”

“However,” says Simons, “I entered nursing as a nursing resident in Critical Care. This opportunity ended up being the catalyst for my current career and helped me gain immense knowledge and skill working with very ill patients. When I transitioned to the Emergency Department a couple years later, I found the perfect blend of critical care nursing skills and taking care of patients of all ages with a wide variety of medical needs. I love the intensity and diversity of patient care.”

Especially in a more rural environment. Having worked in hospitals big and small, Simons thinks “smaller, rural hospitals have the power to make big impacts in the community. As hospitals not connected to larger healthcare systems, they have the ability to tailor care and the patient experience to the communities they serve. Because of the smaller size of rural settings, I love the opportunity to get to know all the employees individually and greet staff in all departments by name. There is a feeling of connectedness and teamwork you can’t find in larger settings.”

Harbor Regional Health Emergency Department

The emergency department is unlike any other healthcare environment, says Simons. “We do not have a set number of appointment or visit times and the number of ambulances that arrive at any given time are unpredictable.”

But despite the chaos, our goal is to provide outstanding and timely care to all patients that seek care she adds. “At times we may have to quickly prioritize provider and nursing care to critically ill patients while ensuring care for stable patients continues as efficiently as possible. Staff should be informing all patients what the next procedure or step is in their visit and the reason for any waiting period. I want all patients to feel they have received great and informed care during their visit to Harbor Regional Emergency Department and we welcome feedback from any patient or family member on how we could improve the patient experience.”

Now that she’s settling in, Simons has two primary goals. She hopes to regain the community’s trust in using this Emergency Department as their place of choice to obtain care, Simon says. “We have highly skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate providers and staff who are committed to providing outstanding care. Secondly, I am eager to make the Emergency Department one of the best healthcare environments to work in. Staff who feel supported and enjoy their work environment, provider a better patient experience. I am actively seeking RNs, CNAs, and EMTs who want to join our team and make the Harbor Regional Emergency Department the best place to work and receive care.”

When not working, she loves gardening, assisting with youth sports, raising chickens, floating the Wynoochee river in the summer, and being involved in community organizations. She currently serves as a board member for Connections; a council member for Grays Harbor EMS Council; and she is on the Grays Harbor College Nursing Program Advisory Board. “All of these organizations work to improve the health and quality of life for Grays Harbor residents,” explains Simon. “I am passionate about this community and working with organizations that work to make it a better place.”

Few things are as stressful as a visit to the emergency room. The CDC reports that there were 139 million visits in just one year alone. The mix of pain, worry, and the often hectic atmosphere are a worrisome combination in times of illness or injury. Thanks to Dr. David Mendelson, the ER at Harbor Regional Healthl is in experienced, confident hands.

A native Oregonian, Dr. Mendelson grew up in Portland and studied there through his medical school graduation from Oregon Health Sciences University. “Ultimately I became a Board Certified emergency physician following my training in Philadelphia and have spent most of my career managing and improving hospital based medical practices many of which were emergency departments, for a company based in Dallas, Texas,” he explains. “During my career, I have always practiced emergency medicine along with my administrative responsibilities, and continue to do so today.”

In the spring of 2020, he answered the call to come home to the Pacific Northwest. “My father and sister still live in Portland and many of my friends are somewhere between Portland and Seattle. I discovered a job opportunity for an Emergency Department Medical Director in Aberdeen. During the interview process, I met the great folks at Grays Harbor Community Hospital and many people from surrounding areas in Washington. I became enamored by this region of Washington, and felt a strong pull to return home to my northwest roots.”

His arrival, unfortunately, coincided with that of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As the new medical director of Grays Harbor Community Hospital Emergency Department I am working very closely with the Emergency Department nursing director and Hospital CEO and just beginning to meet other medical leaders in the area. Needless to say, it has been interesting moving back to the northwest after more than 20 years, and starting my new job in the midst of this pandemic. But this is what ER people do, it’s in our DNA. Good timing huh?”

But despite those added challenges, he’s settling in well. “I have found working at Grays Harbor both rewarding and challenging before and since the pandemic,” admits Mendelson. “The rewarding part comes from the fact that the healthcare community that serves the hospital is passionate about their hospital and its patients from the community. There is nothing more rewarding than working alongside healthcare professionals who genuinely care. The other thing that this shows me is that with this group of professionals that work in the Emergency Department every day, and the strong support from our administration, I am certain we will effect improvements, rapidly, that will make our community proud to be served by GHCH.”

And though Grays Harbor isn’t the biggest or most centralized hospital he’s managed, Mendelson has not found it lacking. “I am amazed at how talented the physician and nursing staffs are at Grays Harbor and would trust the doctors I’ve met with my health or that of my family. I’ve seen medicine practiced on a high level, not just a high level ‘for a community hospital’ but a high level for medicine anywhere in this country. Each of the doctors working in the Emergency Department is solid, has tons of experience, and most are board certified in Emergency Medicine. I have no concerns about that dedication and support at Grays Harbor and know we will get better and better at seeing ER patients and meeting their needs.”

His daily duties include an array of activities. He works hands-on in the Emergency Department as well as supervising, hiring, coaching, scheduling, and managing providers. He constantly seeks input and feedback from his team because “a happy Emergency Department staff is much more likely to have happy appreciative patients and this is best for the community, hospital and longevity of those serving the hospital. In addition, my operational counterparts in nursing and the hospitalists working with Harbor Medical Group have been great to work with and understand what it takes to ensure excellent patient care.”

Outside of work, Dr. Mendelson spends time with his active family. He and his wife have three teenagers, two of whom just graduated from high school in May and are moving off to college in the Fall. They enjoy road trips to visit family and friends or fishing excursions on the Campbell River. Mendelson is also an avid foodie. “I have been cooking all my life and have tried to learn cooking techniques and styles based on where I have lived or traveled during my career,” he says. “Needless to say that the northwest has an abundance of amazing resources for a foodie thus my wife, kids and I have been thrilled to source from local farms and fish houses.”

Mendelson will be able to take advantage of a lot Grays Harbor has to offer. “I have always been a sports enthusiast and love to ski, fish, workout, and camp,” he shares. However, one part may not go so smoothly. “One note, I am an original Portland Trailblazer fan, and a true Dallas Cowboys fan. We will see if I can learn to appreciate the Seahawks.”

The Grays Harbor Community Hospital’s mission is simple: To heal, comfort, and serve our community with compassion. Thankfully, Dr. Mendelson and the entire Emergency Department team strive to do this every day, often in the face of complicated, arduous circumstances.