ARN Southeast Texas Chapter

Linda M. Arfele, MHA, BSN, RN, CRRN

2005 Rehabilitation Nurse-of-the-Year
Congratulations!!!

Current Employment:	Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital
Position:	Director – Inpatient Rehabilitation
	Responsible for planning and operations of the Inpatient Rehabilitation department – Rehabilitation Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy departments.
ARN Member Since:	1978
SETX Chapter ARN Member Since:	1978
SETX Chapter ARN Involvement:	-President-Elect    2006
	-Secretary              2003-2004
	-Expo Planning Committee 2002, 2005
Why did you decide to join SETX ARN?
“I joined for the networking, seeing best practices from other local facilities, and benchmarking from other facilities. Increasing awareness of rehabilitation practices/processes which I may be unfamiliar with also attracted me.”
Awards Received:
-Southeast Texas Rehabilitation Nurse-of-the-Year: 2005
-Nominated for Nurse Excellence Award: 2004
-Employee of the Quarter nomination at Memorial Hermann Southwest: 1997 & 2000
-Coordinator for Memorial Hermann Southwest (MHSW) initiation of Emergency Cart Exchange Program: April 2000
-Leader for Memorial Hermann Skin Care Team: This team won Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Quality Team of the Year for Clinical Improvement: 1996
-Facilitator for Performance Improvement team for MHSW for Patient Falls/Restraints
Community Involvement:
Treasurer and Vice President of St. Matthews Women’s Club
Previously liaison for MHSW to ARC of Ft. Bend County
Volunteer Award recipient – St. Matthews Catholic Church
Exceptional Accomplishment:
“In 2000, I started back to graduate school (after having been out of school 28 years) and obtained MHA in 2003.”
Hobbies, Special Interests:
“I enjoy gardening, sewing and cooking, and am an avid book reader.”
Previous Experience:
Inpatient Rehabilitation Director MHSW: 1991-2000 Nursing supervisor and Nurse Manager for Rehabilitation Unit at MHSW: 1976-1991 Assistant Head Nurse – Rehabilitation Unit- Rosewood General Hospital: 1972-1976
What does Rehabilitation Nursing means to me: Treating the Whole Patient
“When I attended nursing school, my instructors constantly discussed “treating the whole patient.” To me, rehabilitation nursing is the experience of treating the whole patient. When I started my nursing career, I worked on an acute unit in a hospital and, while I learned a lot and it was a great foundation for my nursing skills, I was NOT treating the whole patient. I was treating the leg, the abdominal incision, etc., but never got to know the family and the social situation to which the patient was returning. I “found” rehabilitation after working in acute care for 3 years and immediately loved this level of care for the patient and family. Rehabilitation nursing was, and is, an integral part of the “Rehab experience” for the patient and family. Clearly the PT, OT, speech, and medical care are very important aspects of the patient experience, but these professionals treat the patient for only 3-4 hours per day. It falls to the rehabilitation nurse to help the patient/family incorporate and integrate what he has learned in the gym and practice it for the other 20-21 hours of his day. Interaction with the rehabilitation team is very rewarding. Many professionals from different disciplines all focused on the same goal of easing this one patient’s transition to his home is very fulfilling professionally. In short, rehabilitation nursing, in whatever setting it is practiced, is really what nursing is all about, or should be about. I am very clear that rehabilitation nurses have many advantages: planned admissions and discharges; a committed rehabilitation team focused on the same goal for the patient; and the ability to truly focus on “treating the whole patient.” These reasons are why I love rehabilitation nursing.

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