Traci Aubin is the Corporate Director of Business Development for all 16 Whittier Health Network facilities and services. She brings her passion for treating patients like family at all levels of post-acute care: LTAC, IRF, TCU, SNF, and Outpatient.
What is your favorite part of working @ Whittier?
My favorite part of my job is identifying motivated and positive employees and finding ways to support them in their professional growth within our network. I love to work with new leaders that embrace our culture and use their positivity to effect change in the employees and residents they encounter. I would also say that it’s definitely the people that I work with. I love being able to go to every building and see how they all operate. They’re all like subnuclear little families, and only a few of us are lucky enough to be part of each of them.
How long have you been working at Whittier? What does a typical day look like?
I have been a Whittier staff member Since April 24,1995. I was just a kid, 22 years old, and fresh out of college. I started as a staff Occupational Therapist at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital over 27 years ago, and I have been with Whittier Health Network since. Essentially my seasoned colleagues at Whittier helped raise me!
A “typical” day really does not exist for me, but I LOVE that about my job! My plan for the next day can change at any time depending on what is happening in each building and with the acute hospitals and physician groups that refer to them. Every hospital and skilled nursing facility within the network are unique, and so are the hospitals around them. I love the versatility that working for the entire network allows me, as well as the accessibility of the owners. They really do care, and they listen when their employees have a suggestion or when families provide feedback.
In my role of business development, I am the clinical liaison between the community members, families, referral sources, and Whittier. In this role, I also act as the liaison between the facilities and ownership to ensure the administrators have exactly what they need for their staff to provide exceptional care to the patients and residents. All the time spent working from my car and the thousands of miles driven all across the state are totally worth it when I feel like I am able to make a difference or help a team solve a problem in real-time.
How do you measure success?
I measure success by seeing and interacting with happy, fulfilled staff members, even when our facilities are full and the census is booming, as well as by the positive feedback the patients and families give me about the care they are receiving from our compassionate staff all over the network. My favorite response is always, “My loved one is treated like family here.” It warms my heart just hearing it because I KNOW that it is true!
What is your philosophy, personal statement, or favorite quote?
“Gratitude can turn ordinary days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward
What are some of the skills required to do your job?
I think having a clinical background is imperative for my job. I need to be able to discuss opportunities for admissions as well as understand clinical barriers. I also think my experience as a liaison covering many territories was helpful to me. I have spent 25 years building relationships with people in various healthcare settings, and cultivating those relationships has opened doors for our network and allowed us to establish some incredible partnerships throughout the state and in NH and Maine as well.
Flexibility is a must for success, as well as being able to intuitively know what each person that I encounter may need from me in order for us to have a successful meeting/engagement. I am very observant and sensitive to others’ needs, and I pride myself on facilitating and creating the next leaders of the network. I love to empower people to share their voices with me and to make sure they feel heard in every situation. The next generation is SO BRIGHT, so harnessing some of their ideas and making them possible is usually a win for the patients and our staff.
Do you have any anecdotal stories you’d like to share? Favorite quote that gets you through the day?
One of my favorite things is that because we’re privately owned, when our staff members at the facilities, or our patients/families have good ideas for how we could change our buildings to meet their needs or improve, we’re able to call the network owners, pitch the idea, and get it done.
For example, there was a mom who visited her son every day while he was at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Bradford. We had just moved into this beautiful new building, and she was admiring it and said, “The lobby looks like a hotel; I just wish there was someplace where my son and I could sit outside so he could feel the sun on his face.” We called the Arcidi family, and they had a large stone patio with umbrellas, tables, and chairs built within a week. It was remarkable.
For the outside community, I, along with the clinical liaison teams, are the faces of Whittier. So, the most important aspect of my job is to explain our facilities and the services they provide, make them proud, and always feel like I’m an excellent representation of this company and what they stand for.
Do you have any hobbies or interests that you enjoy?
When I am not with my work family, you will find me with my high school sweetheart, our three amazing kids, and our two dogs. I am usually jumping from one sporting event to another or following a kid across the globe. If not, you will find me outside on a trail with our dogs and a camera in my hands.
