Patient Advocate Phil Rodriguez checks in on Tina Webber and her husband Wendell, proud parents of Sylvia. (Photo by John Abbott)

A Day in the Life of...

Patient Advocate Phil Rodriquez

After 30 years at NYU Langone Medical Center, Phil Rodriguez is four months into his role as one of the Medical Center’s new patient advocates. By serving as a liaison between patients, families, and staff, the patient advocate ensures—and enhances— communication, which can help alleviate everyone’s stress and prevent problems before they occur. “This job is a perfect fit for me,” says Phil. “I’ve always enjoyed interacting with patients.”

July 9, 8:15 a.m. Phil begins the first leg of his walking tour—three units in Tisch Hospital, one in the Schwartz Health Care Center, and the Emergency Department (ED)—to consult with nurses and social workers. “I find out what happened overnight, visit patients, and follow up with families in crisis,” he explains.

9:01 Nicole Lee, 29½ weeks pregnant, has been in the Antepartum Unit over a month because of a rare condition that needs constant monitoring. “Every day I stay here,” she says, “the better it is for the baby.” Phil looks in on Lee, like most of the patients on his tour, twice a day. When she requests a room cleaning, Phil asks her for a convenient time. Twenty minutes later, when Lee steps out, a maintenance man mops and dusts her room, coordinated by Phil. When Phil visits Lee later that day, her smile expresses her gratitude.

9:40 Phil likes to see maternity patients well in advance of their 10:30 a.m. breastfeeding class. “Phil makes my job a thousand times easier,” says Kristin Walicki, RN. “He cuts through red tape. He deals with complaints, so I don’t have to, freeing me up to deal with health issues. Patient satisfaction is way up. So is nurse satisfaction.”

10:20 Phil chats with Tina and Wendell Webber, proud parents of Sylvia, who arrived at 12:07 a.m. “Yesterday we came into the lobby, lost and panicked,” recalls Wendell. “This stranger came up to us,” adds Tina, “whisked us into a private elevator, put me in triage, introduced us to the nurses, and made us feel comfortable and at ease.”

11:35 Two flights up, in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Ann Monahan is dozing off in a chair next to her 17-year-old son, who has been in a coma for 2½ weeks. Clearly drained, Ann perks up at the sight of Phil. “He got us temporary housing near the hospital,” she explains, “and helped us spend more time in the room.”

12:41 p.m. “What about postoperative infection?” a 79-year-old patient asks Phil, perhaps assuming that he’s a physician. Phil takes the woman’s hand and promises to get an answer. “Some people just know how to reassure patients and families,” says Dolli Holland-Coe, a senior social worker. “Phil’s a natural. Even when he was in Security, he was doing many aspects of this job.”

1:09 Phil’s Blackberry, constantly filled with messages from patients and staffers, vibrates with a text message from the ED: u okay? haven’t seen u yet today. Phil taps out a response: soon.

1:36 “Every nice day, I try to go outside during my lunch break—clear my head,” says Phil. “I usually walk to the U.N. and back.” During the stroll, he shares some personal details. He’s 54, lives in Queens with his wife of 29 years, Esther, and has two kids—Tara, 22, a recent special education grad, and Justin, 25, an X-ray technician at NYU Langone.

2:10–5:12 Phil traverses the ED—it’s slow today, with only a few hands to hold—then resolves a fashion emergency. “Hey, Padre,” he calls out to one of the hospital chaplains, before leaning in to adjust his collar. Though his job doesn’t require it, Phil wears a suit and tie every day. “My manner is casual and friendly,” he says, “but I want to look professional.”

5:13 Unless there’s a crisis, Phil is usually on the road by now. But he promised the Webbers that he’d look in on them once more before leaving. “It was our first baby,” confides Tina Webber. “We didn’t know where to go, what to do. And here comes this guardian angel to hold our hands and walk us through. Thank you, Phil!” Sometimes he forgets that what is just another shift for him may be an unforgettable day for people like the Webbers.

5:28 The patient advocate accelerates his RAV4 out of lot C, feeling pretty good about his day.