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Know the Nurses: Home Care Nurse Alyssa Eich

Last updated: October 7, 2021
Categories: Home Care/Private Duty Nursing, Inside PHS

If you have a home care nurse in your home, you already know what an important part of your life they become. Today in Know the Nurses, we’re introducing you to home care nurse Alyssa Eich, RN, who has been with PHS since April 2021. Want to learn more about the home care nursing department and how we train new hires? Check out this post.

We already know these nurses provide comprehensive, round-the-clock care for patients in their homes every day, but here are a few fun facts about Alyssa you might not know. 

  1. I have wanted to be a nurse since Elementary school. My mom is a nurse, and she was always very inspiring to me. In third grade, on “what do you want to be when you grow up day” I wore my mom’s scrub top and brought her work bag to school. I carried that bag around with me all day, and at recess I would sit on the side of the playground, waiting for kids to fall down, then I would run over to them with my nurse’s bag, complete with a stethoscope and Band-Aids, and “fix them up.” Nothing has changed.
  2. Before coming to PHS, I worked at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD for 2 years. While working there, I was a cross-trainer, so I worked on the general pediatric floor, the pediatric oncology floor, and the Pediatric ICU.
  3. I am an Oncology/Chemotherapy provider (it’s not called a certification, you are just an oncology provider, haha!) This means that I took all the necessary classes to be able to give Chemotherapy to children and provide care to the pediatric oncology population!
  4. I chose to switch to home care from the hospital environment because I wanted to do something different. Working in a hospital during COVID came with a lot of challenges, and I wanted a break from that pressure.
  5. One of my favorite things about working with PHS is being able to form close bonds with my patients and their families. I also love being able to see them grow and change over time. In the hospital, typically patients are only there for a short time, so it’s hard to make lasting bonds, and it’s hard not being able to see how the patient is doing after you care for them. One of my favorite parts of working Oncology was being able to see the same patients come in again and again and being able to form lasting connections with them.
  6. I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer right before my 19th birthday, and my journey with that greatly inspired me to get into Pediatric Oncology after college. (I have been cancer free for almost 5 years and will be able to officially call myself “cured” later this year!)
  7. Gluten is my worst enemy. We don’t get along…
  8. I have an 11-year-old brother (13 years younger than me) who is my best friend!
  9. I got married last year, and we have 2 dogs and a cat who we love more than anything!!
  10. I LOVE theatre, especially musical theatre, and have been doing shows since elementary school. My favorite role I’ve played is Paullette in Legally Blonde the Musical my junior year of high school.
  11. My absolute favorite musical is Wicked. I would give anything to play Elphaba.
  12. Taylor Swift is my idol. She is a national treasure.
  13. I am slowly turning all of my patient’s into Swifties and musical theatre geeks. Kids songs get boring fast, so I lull my patients to sleep with Taylor Swift and show tunes!
  14. I treat all of my patients as if they were my little brother; because they’re someone’s sibling, son/daughter, loved one, and they deserve only the absolute best care!
  15. I absolutely love working with PHS and the kids I take care of. Working in the hospital was an amazing experience, but I am lucky to be able to do something new and different; especially something as rewarding as pediatric home care.

We love learning more about home care nurses and hearing their stories. Do you know a PHS nurse who you’d like to see highlighted? Leave his or her name here or on our Facebook page and we’ll take it from there! If you’re interested in starting your career with PHS, click here. 

Originally published: October 13, 2021
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