Christine Longley

I've been working in healthcare for over 14 years here in Florida, after relocating from Ohio where I worked at the Cleveland Clinic doing similar work. As Director of Community Outreach and Director of Volunteers, I focus on meeting people, being out in the community, and making the community aware of all our services and physicians at the hospital. I created a program called Healthy Happenings, which is a quarterly calendar featuring all the events I plan with venues, sponsors, and speakers, and it's been very, very popular. My typical day starts with a morning huddle, and then I work on my calendar at least 6 to 8 weeks ahead of time. The new calendar is out for April, May, June, and I'm already almost completely done with July, August, and September. I'm constantly reaching out to speakers through calls, emails, and texts because it's a win-win for them as well since they get a captive audience. I provide health education and opportunities for free health screenings, and we do a social once a month where community members play bingo, have a beautiful dinner, and enjoy raffles. I organize major community events like the 'Time to Check Your Oil' car show in March for Colon Cancer Awareness Month, which just had its fifth year with tons of cars, a barbecue, physicians answering questions, Thunderbug, and the Bucks cheerleaders. In September, I host 'Ask the Experts' with free health screenings, dinner, and a panel of our expert physicians including cardiologists and urologists answering questions from the audience. I work long hours, getting in at 7:30 in the morning and leaving around 6:30 at night, but I love it. I have a wonderful rapport with every physician here and they always answer their phones. My son is a physician, which inspired me to learn more about the vocabulary of medicine so I could understand what he was talking about. I understand both the physician side and the patient side, which helps me bridge that communication gap.