Locals commute to play key roles at CGRMC

Commuting isn’t for everyone, but four Maricopa women who make the 30- to 40-minute drive from town to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center to get to work every day wouldn’t change a thing.

“One thing about living in Maricopa is you have many options,” said Karen Schussler, the emergency department director. “You can go 25 miles one direction or 25 miles the other. It said something for a hospital that can keep you there.”

The 187-bed hospital has 850 employees and has won its share of awards and accolades for being a great place to work

Schussler and fellow Maricopa residents Kaitee Doll, volunteer services and marketing coordinator, Jeanne Doll, a nursing administration supervisor, and lab Director Cheryl Mossing fill high-level jobs at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center. The hospital employs 52 Maricopa residents.

The four say the hospital’s small-town, friendly work environment makes them happy to go to work each day.

“What I really enjoyed right away was the community feel of the hospital,” Schussler said. “We take care of each other as a community of employees. If someone’s hurt, we’re there to support them, and if it’s something great, we help them celebrate it, too.”

That attitude isn’t determined or restricted by an employee’s respective position within the company, either.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who would feel uncomfortable coming into my office to tell me what they needed or what issues they may have,” Schussler said. “It’s truly an open-door policy, just as I would have no problem going to (the chief nursing officer) of the hospital.”

Kaitee Doll said, “People here smile. They ask how you are. They say ‘Hi’ every time they see you. And from top to bottom, whether it’s the CEO or housekeeping, it is friendly.”

“I used to work in corporate America, and it wasn’t like that,” she added.

For Jeanne Doll, Kaitee Doll’s mother, the friendly atmosphere is bolstered by having knowledgeable co-workers and supervisors.

In Jeanne Doll’s case, she works with two fellow nurses, CEO Rona Curphy and CNO Cheryse Austin.

“They’re at the top,” Jeanne Doll said. “It’s not like mid-management and then another layer of nursing management. It’s them.”

“It’s a lot different than having someone who’s not even connected with nursing, like a big business person, making the decisions and calling the shots around patient care,” Doll said. “They’ve been in the trenches. They understand what it’s like to be an RN, and they are totally and completely behind good patient outcomes.”

“For me, anyway, that’s a huge thing,” she added.