Carole Gibson

Life isn’t always a straight line. Once you realize that and you accept that anyone and everyone sometimes needs help to get back on track, you understand why we do what we do here.

I got my Counselling license because I wanted to help people and give something back to my community. I’ve lived here in Yakima since I was 14. Now I work in the OTP clinic, which is the Opioid Treatment Program. We treat all types of addictions, but our patients have to have an opiate use disorder to be in our program. People come in so down on themselves and a lot of them are straight off the streets. But from the minute they walk through the door, we have a whole team around them that treat every individual with dignity and respect.

You know, everywhere I’ve worked, they talk about being patient centered. I don’t think I actually knew what that meant until I saw it in action here. I’ve never worked somewhere where they really care about what the patient’s goals are. A lot of places are too busy trying to push their beliefs and principles into people, instead of actually listening.

I get to ask people what their goals are – their goals, not the goals of the program – we meet them where they are and help them get where they want to go, with dignity, respect and support. Some people aren’t ready to stop everything, and that’s okay. There’s no judgement here, because life’s not always a straight line.

Comprehensive Healthcare is great at meeting people where they are and helping them to move forward. What really makes this a special employer for me is how managers and colleagues look after and support each other. I really value every day when I can give something back and help other people, whatever they are going through. We all have tough days, we all have uplifting moments. Here at Comprehensive Healthcare, we go through them all together, as a team. Nobody goes it alone.

For me, it’s the Thursday meetings we have each week that really capture what this place is all about. Every Thursday we get to talk about our patients as a team, and listen to how we can better meet their needs. We have our Team Leaders. We have peer support. We have the whole team in the meeting. And what we do, is we open up every meeting with Kudos. It can be Kudos to our fellow coworkers or kudos to our patients. But every week, we’re positive, encouraging and respectful from the very get-go and it’s really cool. It sums up our culture perfectly.

I don’t think I can explain it any better than that. This is definitely the best place I’ve worked – the most supportive, the healthiest culture, the most people focused and patient-centric. From when people first arrive here, I just love watching them start from where they are and then seeing them brighten up and light up during their journey.

Comprehensive Healthcare doesn’t just value the community; they value their employees and that in turn allows us to be better, grow and learn, which trickles down to the quality of care we get to provide our patients!

Honestly, if I had come here when I first started my career, I promise you – I would still be here.

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