“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. I helped take care of my grandmother and other family members. I was able to see what nurses do and how important it is to be compassionate. So, I wanted to do that for people.” 

These memories are what inspired Barb Petrillo, who retired from her position as Assistant Nurse Manager of the OR at Cleveland Clinic’s Westlake Medical Center in July of this year, to attend the Lutheran School of Nursing at Lutheran Hospital to pursue her associate degree in nursing. After graduating in 1984 and awaiting results from her state boards in Columbus, she applied for a role in the OR at the hospital, not quite sure what to expect.  

“After I took the test, they taught me how to scrub because you don’t have to be an RN for that. (A scrub nurse passes instruments and assists with surgical procedures.) I’m fortunate that I got that opportunity. When the surgeon is asking me for something, I understand the importance of it,” she says.  

Soon after, she received news that she passed her boards and was able to transition into the role of a circulating nurse. 

No Two Days Are the Same 

Fast-forward several years (and a few locations and job changes), and Barb was the ANM of the Westlake Surgery Center (the facility is part of Fairview Hospital but is located off-site). She’s prepared for just about anything the day may bring. Her mornings began early – at 5:30 a.m. “I never know what I am going to be faced with when I enter the building.” She’s responsible for staffing the operating rooms, assisting or circulating in cases when needed, and shuffling schedules around when there’s a cancellation or someone’s late. “I need to be able to think on the spot to adapt to any situation that may come our way.” 

“But it’s the ‘all other duties’ at the bottom of our job description that I take to heart,” she continues. “I have cleaned the bathroom and arranged transportation for a patient to get home. It gives me great pleasure to be able to solve a situation for patients and staff,” she says. 

Comprehensive Care and Collaboration 

The Westlake facility handles a wide range of cases, including general surgery, urology, ENT, ocular plastics (conditions that affect the structures that surround the eye), podiatry, orthopaedics, cataracts and laparoscopic gallbladder procedures. “We also see pediatric cases. We are the one on the west side that does it,” she says. 

Barb points out how essential it is to have the proper personnel working together in the operating room. “There’s a special rapport between the nurses, anesthesia team, physician assistants, surgeons and residents. You can’t perform surgery without all those components. Everybody has to be there. It’s definitely a team approach and I like that it’s not, ‘That’s your job. This is my job.’” 

Miracles at Work 

It was just before Christmas during the pandemic when Barb’s world turned upside down. Her daughter tested positive for COVID and was taken to a non-Cleveland Clinic facility where they intubated her. “The doctors said she would benefit from ECMO (a machine that could take over the work of her heart and lungs), but she wasn’t considered a candidate, and they were unable to transfer her to their main facility.  

“I was extremely fortunate to work at Cleveland Clinic, where I had access to two anesthesiologists who were able to make the first miracle happen and get my daughter transferred to Main Campus on Christmas day.” 

Once at Main Campus, Barb’s daughter was cannulated on ECMO (the process of inserting two tubes, called cannulas, into the body to connect the patient to the ECMO circuit) within a few hours of arriving. She spent several months in ICU in the hospital before eventually receiving a bilateral lung transplant. “She was in ICU for five days short of one year. I can’t tell you how many miracles happened during this period of time, but without Cleveland Clinic, my daughter wouldn’t be here to this day. The care that she received was amazing.” 

A True Cleveland Clinic Fan 

“I love it here,” Barb says. “I reached my 30-year anniversary in June. I feel there are so many opportunities here. I was fine having my Diploma of Nursing until they told me I needed my BSN. It was a push that I needed, and I did it. (Barb received her BSN from Kaplan University in 2016.) The Clinic definitely encourages you to better yourself. And that’s impressive.”