Simply Seniors Fall 2023

Kathy Coe McGuire & MacRitchie Skilled Nursing Facility

By Elyse Apel

Kathy Coe has spent over 40 years serving the local community in many different capacities through her work in the medical field.

After serving as the Director of Hillsdale Home Care for several years, Kathy recently took on the role of Director of Nursing for Hillsdale Hospital’s McGuire & MacRitchie Skilled Nursing Facility.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Kathy says. “Every day, you get to change the lives of your patients.”

Kathy started her medical career right out of high school after seeing the positive influence good medical professionals had on her own family.

“I was originally drawn to the medical world because of my great-grandmother. She had homecare and nurses were often coming in,” she explains. “Seeing the impact they had led me to want to help others the way that they had helped us.”

Kathy first got her certification as a nurse’s aide (CNA). After five years as a CNA, she went back to school; first to become a surgical tech, and later becoming a surgical first assist.

After several years, Kathy decided to receive even more training, this time to become a registered nurse (RN).

Kathy has always lived in the Hillsdale and Branch County area and says she sees her patients and community members like family.

“The reason I do what I do is because of how much I like to help the people that are in our community,” she says. “These are my people. We are all just one big family.”

Now, in her role at the skilled nursing facility, Kathy and her team help families in the same way those nurses helped her great-grandmother all those years ago.

One of the biggest ways they do this is by ensuring that each patient gets their individualized treatment plan and goals that fit their needs.

“Our skilled nursing facility and long-term care team have a five-star rating [from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services],” she says. “We strive to ensure that each patient is taken care of individually. We do not just make generic care plans, instead, we tailor each plan to each patient so they can achieve the best outcome.”

Kathy has many different duties in her position, but she spends the majority of her time making sure that patients get the help they need.

“In skilled nursing, we ensure that the patients are meeting their goals. This applies not only to the ones that the doctor sets for them but also their own personal health and recovery goals,” she says.

There is a wide range of health needs that the McGuire short-stay rehabilitation unit assists patients with, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other posthospitalization or post-operation needs. They also offer respite care services to help primary caregivers avoid burnout.

The MacRitchie long-term care facility takes care of its residents, many of which spend years there.

“Our long-term patients feel like they are at home,” Kathy says.

Kathy explains that, despite the many challenges that medical professionals face, there’s nothing more satisfying.

“We are so lucky to get to watch our patients succeed and meet their goals every day,” she says.

Outside of her duties at work, Kathy also stays very busy in her personal life, where her compassionate nature continues to shine through.

In her free time, she says that she enjoys hunting and spending time outdoors with her family.

“I have a son that is 22 and I have two littles that are four and five,” Kathy says.

Hillsdale Hospital’s McGuire & MacRitchie Skilled Nursing Facility is located on the main hospital campus at 168 S. Howell Street in Hillsdale. Call (517) 437-5233 for more information or admissions. Learn more about the skilled nursing facility and its services at www. hillsdalehospital.com/snf.