Distinguished Staff: Cindy Farrell links efficiency to caring at Pediatric Clinic

Cindy Farrell

Spend a few minutes watching Cindy Farrell working and you'll see why she was chosen as a recipient of the University's Distinguished Staff Award.

Farrell, patient services coordinator in the busy pediatric clinic at UW Medical Center-Roosevelt, juggles many roles simultaneously: checking in patients, making appointments, solving an insurance problem, comforting a sick child or reassuring parents.

"And during this Cindy is always the warm, caring person who has a word of reassurance, an interest in how the family is doing, a willingness to help in their concerns," wrote Dr. Helen Baker, clinic professor emeritus of pediatrics, one of those who nominated Farrell for the award.

To Farrell, the work comes naturally. She truly loves her job and "her kids."

"I wouldn't work anywhere else in this entire University," she said. "This is the job for me, working with kids in an intellectually stimulating environment."

Farrell, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., has worked with children since she was a counselor in a day camp when she was 15.

She moved to Seattle in 1978, and came to UW Medical Center first in the women's clinic, then to the pediatric clinic to stay in 1983.

Farrell's caring attitude toward patients and their families is what makes her such a distinguished employee, according to nurse practitioner Mary Ellen Smith, clinical assistant professor of nursing, who first hired Farrell 15 years ago.

"This past Christmas she organized the staff to buy gifts and clothes for a family who had no resources to purchase their own presents," Smith wrote in nominating Farrell for the award. "Her warm and caring manner are an example of her 'heart of gold' that reaches out to the lives of all of the parents and children who come here for their health care. She sets an example for all of the clinic staff. For her, the patient and his or her family always come first."

The pediatric clinic where Farrell works moved to UWMC-Roosevelt in February, after many years located at the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD). The move was the result of a merger of the general pediatric clinic at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center with the one at UWMC.

The clinic has been positively received by the community at large, and is seeing twice as many patients as anticipated.

"You have to be ready on the front lines," Farrell said, "but I also have a good knack for keeping people calm."

With the advent of managed care, Farrell spends a great deal of time each day keeping track of referrals as well as making sure that patients are indeed signed up with UWMC for their care.

Farrell lives in Shoreline and has two sons, Justin, 24, a recent graduate of the University of Southern California, and Jeremy, 18, who will attend USC next fall as a freshman. She plans to use the $3,000 award to relive a trip to Maine with a friend — a trip they took together more than 25 years ago.

"It's such an honor to receive this award," she said. "I will be forever grateful to the people that nominated me." ¶

Craig Degginger