This week on Rural Health Leadership Radio, we’re talking about pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation. We’re having that conversation with Tracy Conroy, CEO, Valerie Roark, Director of Cardiopulmonary Services, and Connie Wilson, Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Nurse at Daviess Community Hospital.
“Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from seeking the care and the treatment and talking to your physician about what you can do to improve your lifestyle.”
~Tracy Conroy
Tracy Conroy has over 25 years of leadership experience in both acute and long-term care, population health management, outpatient clinics, and regional partnerships. She is very knowledgeable about patient experience, revenue growth, patient quality and safety, physician recruitment, and capital construction. Tracy is also an active member of the Indiana Rural Health Association, Rotary Club of Washington, IN., American Red Cross, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation. Tracy is passionate about expanding access to care for all residents and collaborating with the community to promote positive health outcomes.
“Having programs like Pulmonary Rehab is what gives me hope because I know that the patients that come into pulmonary rehab and that really embrace what we teach in there, that it’s life-changing for them.”
~Connie Wilson
Connie Wilson MSN, RN, CCRP, CCEP, Certificate in Pulmonary Rehabilitation currently serves as the Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation nurse at Daviess Community Hospital. She has been a nurse for 34 years, with 28 years in Cardiac Rehabilitation and 25 years in Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Connie is an active member of the Indiana Society of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, being on the board of directors and serving as President in 2007 and 2018.
“There’s hope on the horizon that people will live a better quality of life as they progress through the phases of COPD.”
~Valerie Roark
Valerie Roark is a Registered Respiratory Therapist working with Daviess Community Hospital in Washington, IN for the past 30 years as the Director of the Cardiopulmonary Department, EEG's, Sleep Diagnostics and Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. She feels she has positively impacted the Daviess Community Hospital and the community it serves by raising the level of professionalism within the departments she provides oversight by recruiting and hiring highly-skilled, passionate, caring professionals whether it be respiratory therapists, registered nurses or in our most recent hire of exercise physiologists for our cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs.