Purpose. Passion. Paying it Forward.
Yaroslav, Yaro to most, has cared for patients on a large complex respiratory care unit at Hospital for Special Care (HFSC) for about 10 years. He joined the hospital after graduation from the University of Connecticut School of Nursing and there he found both his purpose and his passion. Caring for others comes naturally to Yaro, and the patients he supports at HFSC require highly specialized clinical attention. “I knew I wanted to make an impact on people’s lives when I started nursing school,” said Yaro. “The first time I visited HFSC I knew this was the place I could truly make a difference for patients and their families.”
Yaro worked as a floor nurse for six years. He credits his preceptor and other mentors for helping him develop the unique competencies needed to care for patients with tracheostomies, dependent on ventilators, experiencing advanced neuromuscular disorders, or living with extensive mobility limitations. “My mentors helped me learn to care for my patients’ medical needs and also how to improve their quality of life,” said Yaro.
“Yaro was eager to learn, he questioned every process to be sure he understood every step,” said Angel Preece, RN, who served as Yaro’s preceptor in 2012. “He was eager to achieve competency in all of the specialized procedures medically-complex patients need and to improve processes where he could,” she said.
Yaro developed extensive skills in maintaining patients’ skin health and in infection prevention and control, both extremely vital skills on a 38-bed unit where every patient has unique needs and vulnerabilities. His hard work, and unflagging energy, have earned the appreciation of his patients and their families through the years. “That’s the most motivating reward, when a patient, especially a patient who has limited verbal communication, finds a way to express their thanks,” he said. “That’s what keeps me passionate about nursing every day.”
Yaro is one of the few who is certified in endoscopic procedures and serves as a coordinator for inpatient Intrathecal Baclofen Pump management. He is the go-to person for many hands-on practices including managing gastric and jejunostomy tubes. Yaro also serves on committees where he helps improve practices and procedures.
Yaro’s promotion to unit clinical coordinator gave him an opportunity to unite his purpose and his passion by creating opportunities to contribute to the clinical and quality performance of the entire unit. “I get to see the big picture now, identify and follow trends, and collaborate with other clinicians to improve outcomes,” said Yaro. “I enjoy working with our respiratory therapy team, the nurses and patient care staff on the floor, our social workers, advanced practitioners, physicians and specialist, to ensure that every patient’s care is optimal.”
He also now mentors’ others and helps nursing students and early careerists expand their clinical and patient interaction competencies. “I like to pay it forward. There are so many opportunities to do and learn different things in nursing. People helped me learn and every new skill has made me a better nurse,” he said. “I enjoy doing that with others.” His team say he is a generous and supportive mentor who fosters critical thinking and continuous learning.
Yaro came to the United States with his parents when he was 10 years old. “I’m an only child,” said Yaro. “They wanted to give me every opportunity to have a good life.” Yaro learned to face challenges with optimism, integrity and dedication, at an early age and carried these traits with him into his nursing career. “I didn’t speak English when I first came here. My first school in America had many Polish students, which was closer to my own language, so I learned to speak Polish first and that helped me make the transition to English.”
When asked how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted his nursing practice, Yaro looks back to the skills he learned as a child. “I think resiliency is tied to your ability to handle change,” he said. “Moving to a new country, learning a new language and new culture, really helped me learn how to handle change.” His capacity to remain calm in any storm helped others, from colleagues to patient family members separated from their loved ones during the worst pandemic surges, maintain perspective. “We can get through things together if we can roll with each new change rather than simply react to it.”
Yaro’s motivation and energy extend to every part of his life. He is building a real estate portfolio and just embarked on a new adventure with his fiancé: raising chickens at their Connecticut home. He remains a devoted son, and keeps in touch with his extended family and friends in Ukraine. He’s a devoted futbol fan, but is focusing more of his free time these days on planning his wedding with Heidi Harris, one of HFSC’S registered dietitians.