Brittany Page
They share the same first name and job title, and even started working at Akron Children’s at the same time, but if you observed Brittany Page and Brittney Visor in their roles as hospital visitor monitors, you’d never guess they’ve only been on the job since April.
Brittney Visor
Their warm smiles and outgoing personalities make them approachable, which is vital in their customer-service oriented positions.
Stationed at desks on floors above and below each other, Page and Visor make it a point to greet everyone who walks by whether an employee, volunteer, visitor or patient family. Although they work different shifts, their job duties are the same – helping people get where they need to go.
Page works at the 3rd floor desk from 1- 9 p.m. and Visor at the 2nd floor desk from 5 a.m.- 1 p.m.
“My favorite part of the job is talking to people,” Page said. “I try to greet everyone who walks by and ask if they know where they’re headed.”
Although they work alone, they are rarely lonely. One of Page’s favorite weekly visitors is Bailey, a member of the Doggie Brigade. The 7-year-old Cockalier returns the sentiment with plenty of tail wagging and hand licking.
“I look forward to her visits,” said Page, an affirmed dog lover and new mom to Kane, a German Shepherd puppy. “I keep treats in my desk for Bailey and other Doggie Brigade volunteers.”
Visor has her own favorite 4-legged friend.
“Every other Thursday I get to see Petie the Pony,” she said. “He comes in and walks right past my desk.”
Visitors to the hospital, especially those going to see patients, are expected to stop at the information desks and get a badge. Badges are color coded depending on the floor a person is visiting – blue for the burn unit, yellow for PICU, orange for the 6th floor, green for the 7th floor, gold for the 8th floor and purple for hematology/oncology.
“Last night I wrote 105 passes,” Page said. “One of the initiatives we’re trying to implement is keeping a tally of how many people visit each area daily.”
Visitor monitor stations are located at all entrances to the hospital and are staffed from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“I have the ability to look up patient room numbers and direct visitors to patient floors and hospital departments,” said Visor. “My desk also serves as the check-in point for vendors who work with our physicians.”
Visitor monitors work closely with security when the occasional uncooperative person refuses to stop and get a badge.
“My job is a necessity for keeping our patients and hospital safe,” Page said. “I need to know where people are going and why they’re here.”
Daily flower deliveries come to Page’s desk. She then calls on the volunteers to make deliveries. Today a “thank you” arrangement arrives for a physician.
Four-year-old Mariamawit stops by to check out the selection of cute puppy and kitten stickers Page has lined up on the edge of her desk. After picking a sticker, Mariamawit hangs around to pet Bailey.
“All visitor monitor desks throughout the hospital keep stickers for the kids,” said Visor. “I have a special stash of popular stickers I keep in the drawer of favorites like Doc McStuffins, Batman, Ironman and the Frozen characters.”
People come and go in a steady stream – sometimes even being sent back in the direction from which they came.
“Lots of people come over the bridge not realizing their appointment is actually in the building adjacent to where they just parked,” said Page. “I try to stop as many people as I can and make sure they know where they’re headed to keep them from wandering farther away from where they need to be.”
For only having worked at the hospital for a short 4 months, both Page and Visor have an impressive command for where departments are located and which elevator to take to get to them.
“When I first started working here I shadowed someone for 1 week and that was a huge help,” Visor said. “And, if I really don’t know where something is, I have a cheat sheet at my fingertips.”
Both women plan to return to school in the fall, taking advantage of the hospital’s tuition reimbursement benefits. Page is enrolled in an online MBA program at North Central University, and Visor plans to complete her associate’s degree in radiologic technology at The University of Akron.
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