1998 Annual Report
Cathy A. Mackin
Nourishing things to help them grow and bloom is Cathy Mackin's joy in life--from the flowers in her garden to the projects and people she works with daily at PAMF.
As an Assistant Administrator in the Health Care Division, Mackin is integrally involved in a major organizational challenge called "clinical redesign," working with administrators, physicians and staff to solve long-standing patient-access problems.
"What satisfies me most is to know that with the worst complaint or biggest concern there can be a good outcome," she says of her daily work with both patients and staff. Just listening and sharing helps people know someone is there who understands and will try to help, she adds.
"You have to want to get things done," she says of her administrative roles since she joined PAMF (as manager of transcription) in 1986. "You have to be proactive. You have to be diplomatic and you have to be able to put yourself in everybody's shoes. I describe it as being a liaison between Administration and the physicians, the physicians and the staff, the staff and the patients--and being an advocate for everybody."
Caregiving and leadership skills came early to Mackin, a native of Cuyahoga Falls--a suburb of Akron, Ohio--and the oldest of four children. "I think that did contribute to my being a leader and wanting to take care of people," she recalls of early baby-sitting days, at 50 cents an hour.
"It was nice. I had both sets of grandparents most of my life. I think I did a lot of my people-skill learning when I was young--being diplomatic so I wouldn't get into trouble." She also was active with the Brownies and Girl Scouts.
She became interested in health care in high school and began volunteering at an information desk of a local hospital, Green Cross Hospital. Friends there talked about medical records and transcription as career paths, and "I was excellent at secretarial skills and actually could type well over 110 words per minute. So that was my shoe-in to a transcription job at the hospital." Her father, Bill, encouraged her during kitchen-table chats, saying, "If you want to be successful, have a skill where you can move and find a job easily," Mackin recalls. "I remember telling him, 'I think I'd like medical transcription.' And he says, 'Well, that's something you can do anywhere in the world.'
"I wasn't at that job too long when they asked me to be the transcription supervisor, in 1969. I had taken some transcription and business classes, but was mostly self-taught in medical transcription," looking up medical terms and phrases. She next did consulting work for two years with a private transcription firm.
Then a tragic loss changed her life: "A lot of what I am all about is because of my father. But losing him to an early death, when I was 24, really made me sit back and think about what is important, and my values.
"It made me want to make a difference. Life is very precious, and what it boils down to for me is that I keep striving and striving to make a difference, and that has helped me cope. I know my dad would be very proud of me." Her mother, Lucile, lives in Arizona and siblings Marcia and Michael still reside in the Akron area. Her sister Linda, also in health care, lives in the Willow Glen area of San Jose.
Mackin said a physician friend advised her to come to California. "I always made spontaneous decisions. My sister is more reserved. I said, 'You know, he says we should come out to California.' She says, 'Well, let's do it.' I was very surprised." Within weeks, they pointed their Pontiac Firebirds west, toward California.
Mackin took an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. transcription job at West Valley Hospital in Los Gatos, but within a year joined a private medical clinic. Over the next 12 years, she moved from transcriptionist to executive assistant to clinic operations, until that position was eliminated in 1985. She and a friend had formed a parallel side business and worked with independent contractors doing medical and legal transcription.
For some months, Mackin continued with her own transcription business, "but I found out there is more to me than sitting at home running a business and transcribing. I needed to be outside, with the real world, and be more hands-on and make a difference to the community--you lose a lot not communicating with people. I was paid by the line, and I became a maniac and wouldn't stop for anything. I just kept typing, typing, typing."
Then, in the late fall of 1985, she saw a job advertisement for a transcription manager at PAMF. "I thought, 'Maybe I'll go check that out,' and before I got home from the interview there was a job offer on my answering machine."
She proudly inherited a department of 50 transcriptionists, who were "really kind of isolated" due to the nature and pace of their work. "So I tried to make a difference with them and have more activities, and things they liked. I learned to deal with people in a more sensitive way. You know, when you have 50 people in one department, it's a quick learn." She also served three terms as president of an employees' association, planning and arranging employee events for the entire Health Care Division.
In 1991, she was named one of five "area managers," each assuming full responsibility for operations within a defined area of PAMF, which she said helped improve internal communications significantly. "We can always improve on that," she says. She was responsible for day-to-day operations of Internal Medicine and subspecialties, and later for all receptionists. She chairs a Receptionist Steering Committee to improve receptionist operations and status.
Mackin is involved in community volunteer projects, including adopting a family during Christmas holidays; working with the Red Cross to drive cancer patients to medical appointments; working with the Big Brothers and Sisters Association (she had a "little sister" for six years in the early 1990s); and formerly doing "pet therapy," visiting nursing homes on Saturdays with her dog, Mac. She enjoys entertaining friends, and is an expert "appetizers" chef. She has dabbled in interior decorating and floral design: "I just love flowers. Springtime happens to be one of my favorite times of the year. I am energized by being outdoors."
She still reflects on her father and his influence. "Of course, my family and friends are proud of me, and that has helped me succeed in my life. I get a lot of comfort from that, and from talking with patients and helping staff. I believe if everyone reached out to make a small difference, the impact would be impressive."