While growing up as a competitive Nordic skier, Haley Pacholec occasionally would pass out for no apparent reason. Each time, the evaluation came back normal. Finally, an episode in college with an incredibly slow heart rate made it clear Haley needed intervention. “I ended up getting a pacemaker when I was 19,” she says. While that ended her competitive career, it sparked her professional one. “I think it really just opened my eyes to the medical system, because I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to go into at that point in time,” she recalls. She decided to go to nursing school. Cardiology Heart to Heart I feel like an understanding from a patient’s perspective . . . has made a really big impact on my ability to take care of patients. — Haley Pacholec, NP Patients seem to sense the power of this committed and collaborative team. “I have so many patient interactions where they tell me that they’ve been coming here for years, and every single person that they interact with is just absolutely wonderful,” Haley says. “It’s just a special place.” A dream come true As she goes through her workdays, Haley finds her own experience with heart trouble shapes how she approaches patient care. “I feel like an understanding from a patient’s perspective — especially going through procedures and what to expect and just the nerves that are associated with that — has made a really big impact on my ability to take care of patients,” she says. “I think it’s most important for patients to know I really care and I want to be able to be there for them as much as possible.” From cardiac patient to cardiology provider People make it everything After years as a registered nurse, including in the Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular cardiac catheterization lab, Haley decided to complete a master’s degree and nurse practitioner studies. When Fawaz Alhumaid, MD, Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular arrhythmia services director, heard Haley was graduating, he encouraged her to stay at Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular— now as a cardiology nurse practitioner. Haley says the offer was too good to ignore. “It’s the people at Adventist Health Portland that really make it everything,” she says. AdventistHealth.org/Portland 7
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