Lori Miller
Congratulations to Lori Miller, RN, a clinical coordinator in Akron Children’s Infusion Center, for receiving the 2022 Faces of Care award. Presented by the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association and Cleveland Magazine, the awards honor Northeast Ohio nurses who have made an impact in the nursing community.
According to Melissa Williams, clinical operations manager in the Infusion Center and Lori’s nominator, “Lori’s dedication to her patients and families, the referral providers and the staff is to be commended. She participates in every part of the patient’s appointment from ensuring the very expensive medications are authorized, to ordering medications from the patient’s specialty pharmacy, to planning for each patient’s needs during their appointment.”
Lori began her career at Akron Children’s in 1991 as a physical therapy technician before becoming a registered nurse. Prior to joining the Infusion Center staff, she worked in hematology-oncology, the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) and the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Melissa says Lori’s name is often mentioned in the accolades given in the Infusion Center NRC patient family satisfaction survey.
“When she transitioned to the clinical coordinator role in 2018, many patient families were upset that Lori could not be their primary nurse any longer,” says Melissa. “Lori ensured the patient families that her team of nurses were exceptional and although she would no longer be their primary nurse, she would still be very involved in every patient encounter.”
Recently, a patient’s provider wanted to change infusion treatments and the patient had not been established with the provider very long. They requested a meeting with Lori during their next infusion appointment.
“Lori’s reassurances and compassion left the family with a feeling of trust for their new provider’s requested changes,” says Melissa.
Another example of Lori’s dedication is her willingness to go above and beyond.
“When we had a new referral, Lori worked tirelessly with the authorization department to obtain permissions for the Infusions to be at Akron Children’s and then with the specialty pharmacy to get the medications ordered,” says Melissa. “When the patient’s family had a large out-of-pocket co-pay, Lori provided the family with the pharmaceutical company’s co-pay assistance program information. She spent hours on the phone getting the account set up and shipment arranged to Akron Children’s over multiple occasions.”
Lori says she is honored to have been chosen for the award.
“This award affirms that the kindness, empathy and compassion we are taught as nurses drives my job,” she says. “The mission of the hospital is so important to me. It’s the reason I’ve tried to create an efficient and enjoyable environment for chronically ill patients and families so that they can get the treatment they need and still have the time to be a normal child.”
