An administrative officer at Memorial Hospital West since 2013, Zainab Makhani is, in the words of Chief Nursing Officer Denise Reynolds, “the nurse that takes care of the nurse so the nurse can take care of the patient.”

The role requires big picture thinking, the ability to make decisions, and expertise in staffing, critical capacity, risk management, quality management, patient and family concerns, facilities, food service, and infection control. “The AO is the first phone call for all issues,” said Makhani. “We have to communicate in a way that lets those affected feel confident we’ll bring a creative approach to minimizing chaos.”

COVID-19 complicated things for all healthcare workers but Reynolds says Makhani “faced each shift with a calm that infiltrated Memorial Hospital West. Her voice, on the daily huddle call, immediately set the tone for peace, regardless of whatever else was happening within the walls of the hospital.”