HEALTH CARE STAFF: A patient advocate who 'fills the gap'

Devin Keyes

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By Christina P. O'neill

Devin Keyes' affinity for living in the moment serves him well in his job as patient advocate at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. He talks like someone who has found his calling.

Keyes works second shift in the hospital’s emergency department, assisting the medical staff in the delivery of care in as timely a manner as a busy inner-city ED allows, and providing problem-solving and emotional support to patients and their families.

That’s not always easy. He deals with people who are in crisis and in pain. He also defuses conflict situations in which people in crisis become aggressive toward hospital staff. Transforming a situation from confrontation to handshake is meaningful, and part of the job, he said. He circulates throughout the ED and waiting room, keeping patients well-informed and working with staff to focus on the practical things – blankets, pushing stretchers to help staff, and finding accommodations for patients waiting for admission.

But probably most important are the non-medical patient needs, such as emotional support for patients and their families.

Saint Vincent Hospital patient advocates act as the interface between patients and the hospital system. They communicate closely with nurses, doctors and the various diagnostic departments such as radiology and imaging, to improve patients’ movement through the system. But they also offer the type of patient and family support that the time-strapped medical staff may want to provide, but cannot.
Tough times

James Gibbons of Clinton was one of those family members.

"He just filled the gap," Gibbons said of Keyes’ assistance on behalf of his late mother and his family last year.

Gibbons’ mother had been transferred from Clinton Hospital to Saint Vincent with a dislocated hip. It was Keyes who got her moved to quieter quarters while waiting for hospital admission, and it was he who always had an encouraging word for family members in the lobby or the cafeteria. During a difficult time for the Gibbons family, James noted, Keyes was a "wonderful and kind professional."

Observing patient confidentiality concerns, Keyes does not divulge any medical information. He keeps waiting-room patients updated on how long it will be before they are seen, but doesn’t say what the doctors may be looking for.

Keyes holds a master’s degree in rehab counseling. He formerly counseled veterans. While he liked the work, his on-the-edge mindset craved the ability to make a difference in the current moment. So when Saint Vincent Hospital launched the ED patient advocate program in 2005, he was its first recruit. He’s now a licensed Emergency Medical Technician, and has been a patient advocate for more than a year and a half. He said the patient advocate position could not work without the support of Saint Vincent doctors and nurses.

Keyes emphasized that a patient advocate’s role is to create patient satisfaction, not just monitor it. Without support from hospital leadership on down, he said, the job would be meaningless.

"It’s a credit to Saint Vincent Hospital to be focused on patient care," he said. "It's an honor to be needed."