Provider Spotlight: Brianna Sieber, PA-C
Brianna Sieber, PA-C had been a hospitalist advanced practice provider for about five years when work-life balance as a new mom prompted her to consider new job opportunities. That’s when she found a position listed with Allegheny Health Network’s Home Recovery Care program. Initially, Brianna explains, “I thought I’d be helping patients transition home after discharge and helping with arranging their follow-up care. I did not initially realize that it’s basically inpatient hospital medicine at home. When I found out, I was even more excited. It was something I was used to, just with a little twist.”
That “twist” for Brianna meant delivering the same care, while adjusting to a different pace: “I was so used to being on the move constantly,” she recalls. But then she realized a unique benefit to the care: “I really have the time to talk to these patients.”
The extra time is reflected in how satisfied the patients are, she shares. “Patients love it, and I think patients really do improve more in their own environment. They’re able to get up and move around more. And I believe that being in their own home seems to really give them the mental motivation to feel better and get better.”
On building trust within the health system
“When we started this program, it was brand new at this hospital,” Brianna explains. Initially, she spent her time rounding with providers within each area of the hospital and getting to know the hospitalists she’d be collaborating with on a personal level. “I forged relationships with the providers and helped them understand the program; I was personally invested in adapting the program to be successful operationally while still advocating for the patients,” she says.
She adds, “This is brand new to even the youngest of the providers,” making it important to take the time to sit down and explain the process with them. “I know medicine is one of those things that’s always evolving, but certain aspects of it have never changed and this is one of them. If you think back, doctors always made house calls and were checking in on their patients, and I feel this is just another version of that. Patients get to be comfortable in their home with the exact same level of care.”
On building trust with patients and caregivers
As she introduces hospital-level care at home to patients, Brianna shares that although patients occasionally express concerns, “We try to walk them through every process, and find out what specifically is causing that concern. Is it the whole thing, or do we need to explain something better?” She also adds that she works to reassure patients that the team is always available to help. “If it doesn’t work out, we can always bring them back to the hospital or figure out the next appropriate step.”
Overall, though, returning to the hospital is not necessary. “We’ve had a couple of situations where patients have gotten home and we’ve had to send them back to the hospital due to home safety issues, but they were things we could not have seen prior to bringing the patient home, whether it be a hoarding situation or something like that,” she explains.
After seven months with the program, it’s fair to say Brianna is hooked on the model of care. “I love this job,” she says. “It’s something that never anticipated stumbling into. It was a very nice surprise.”