Challenges Strengthen Patient Access Manager’s Commitment
Bridget Hodge is not afraid of a challenge. She took on the “challenge” of moving from sunny San Diego back to Cleveland in 2016. “And I always think twice about it when it’s May and freezing cold and raining,” she says. She started her Cleveland Clinic career as a Patient Access Representative, registering and scheduling patients.
Bridget is now Department Supervisor, responsible for managing the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus Emergency Department Patient Access Team. In registering and obtaining demographic information, these caregivers are often the first point of contact for these patients.
Challenge No. 2
Then, when the Covid pandemic changed life, and the delivery of healthcare, Bridget took on another challenge: creating and running a remote registration department to minimize the risk to patients and caregivers. “Remote Registration was created to help decrease exposure face-to-face and to decompress the workload of on-site registrars,” Bridget says.
Patients opt into the process by providing their phone number when they arrive. “A caregiver from my remote team then makes contact by phone with the patient to complete their registration,” Bridget says. “The on-site team will follow up with the patient to obtain any additional information.”
The department started small but quickly grew to 30, and now supports patient registration at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, as well as at Avon, Fairview, Marymount, Euclid, Hillcrest, South Pointe, and Mentor hospitals, along with two Florida locations (Weston and Martin North).
In addition to helping create safer environments for patients and caregivers,
Bridget notes that she benefited professionally. “This was my first dive into project management where my senior manager, Crystal Cernanec, really allowed me to lead. We were able to centralize the team at Marymount in July 2022 and then went fully remote in October 2024. A pretty full circle moment for me.”
A spirit of teamwork and support
Along the way to her current position, Bridget credits the support she’s received for much of her success. “I think the best part about my job is that I’ve always been fortunate to have really great leaders and managers around me,” she says. “My senior manager was a really good mentor from Day 1.”
As leader of the Patient Access and Remote Registration Teams, Bridget has sought to carry that feeling of leadership and camaraderie forward. “I have two really good teams,” she says. “Both teams are really engaged, really happy.”
Building solid, well-functioning teams is integral to her management style, she says. “I thrive on relationship building in the workplace, so I try to lead with that. We have daily huddles now. If I’m not there in the morning or if I’m late, they’ll usually message me and say, ‘are we still going to huddle today?'”
Bridget notes that the daily huddles help the team cope with working in the Emergency Department, which handles everything from routine conditions to life-threatening situations. “The emergency room can be a stressful environment,” she says. “So, I think it’s important to take a pause every day and talk about the morning, everyone’s plans for the weekend, and so on. We need to remember that there are people outside of the role that you hired them for.”
Advice to potential caregivers
Bridget encourages potential caregivers to consider patient access/registration as an entry into the healthcare field.
“It’s a really rewarding field,” she says. “It’s also one that people maybe don’t think of necessarily when they think of working in the healthcare setting, like nursing. But support roles like administration and registration are often the first point of contact for patients, and we set the tone for their visit, so it’s a really important job.”
Bridget also appreciates the many opportunities for advancement that Cleveland Clinic offers her. “I’m at the point where I would probably be looking toward a management position. There are a lot of paths that you’re able to take, depending on what you put into your time here,” she says.
Bridget Hodge is not afraid of a challenge. She took on the “challenge” of moving from sunny San Diego back to Cleveland in 2016. “And I always think twice about it when it’s May and freezing cold and raining,” she says. She started her Cleveland Clinic career as a Patient Access Representative, registering and scheduling patients.
Bridget is now Department Supervisor, responsible for managing the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus Emergency Department Patient Access Team. In registering and obtaining demographic information, these caregivers are often the first point of contact for these patients.
Challenge No. 2
Then, when the Covid pandemic changed life, and the delivery of healthcare, Bridget took on another challenge: creating and running a remote registration department to minimize the risk to patients and caregivers. “Remote Registration was created to help decrease exposure face-to-face and to decompress the workload of on-site registrars,” Bridget says.
Patients opt into the process by providing their phone number when they arrive. “A caregiver from my remote team then makes contact by phone with the patient to complete their registration,” Bridget says. “The on-site team will follow up with the patient to obtain any additional information.”
The department started small but quickly grew to 30, and now supports patient registration at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, as well as at Avon, Fairview, Marymount, Euclid, Hillcrest, South Pointe, and Mentor hospitals, along with two Florida locations (Weston and Martin North).
In addition to helping create safer environments for patients and caregivers,
Bridget notes that she benefited professionally. “This was my first dive into project management where my senior manager, Crystal Cernanec, really allowed me to lead. We were able to centralize the team at Marymount in July 2022 and then went fully remote in October 2024. A pretty full circle moment for me.”
A spirit of teamwork and support
Along the way to her current position, Bridget credits the support she’s received for much of her success. “I think the best part about my job is that I’ve always been fortunate to have really great leaders and managers around me,” she says. “My senior manager was a really good mentor from Day 1.”
As leader of the Patient Access and Remote Registration Teams, Bridget has sought to carry that feeling of leadership and camaraderie forward. “I have two really good teams,” she says. “Both teams are really engaged, really happy.”
Building solid, well-functioning teams is integral to her management style, she says. “I thrive on relationship building in the workplace, so I try to lead with that. We have daily huddles now. If I’m not there in the morning or if I’m late, they’ll usually message me and say, ‘are we still going to huddle today?'”
Bridget notes that the daily huddles help the team cope with working in the Emergency Department, which handles everything from routine conditions to life-threatening situations. “The emergency room can be a stressful environment,” she says. “So, I think it’s important to take a pause every day and talk about the morning, everyone’s plans for the weekend, and so on. We need to remember that there are people outside of the role that you hired them for.”
Advice to potential caregivers
Bridget encourages potential caregivers to consider patient access/registration as an entry into the healthcare field.
“It’s a really rewarding field,” she says. “It’s also one that people maybe don’t think of necessarily when they think of working in the healthcare setting, like nursing. But support roles like administration and registration are often the first point of contact for patients, and we set the tone for their visit, so it’s a really important job.”
Bridget also appreciates the many opportunities for advancement that Cleveland Clinic offers her. “I’m at the point where I would probably be looking toward a management position. There are a lot of paths that you’re able to take, depending on what you put into your time here,” she says.
