Jeff Paul

Jeff always thought his career would be all about cars.  At age 14, he purchased his first vehicle for $412.50 (don’t forget that 50 cents!). Early work fixing, repairing, and painting cars turned into a position as a regional sales representative for a major auto paint manufacturer.  Later he started his own auto restoration shop.  But life has a way of surprising you, and the business skills he gained in the auto industry would find soon find a new application.

When his wife’s grandfather became ill, Frank (“Gramps” to the family) moved in with Jeff and his family. The two years Frank lived with them were life changing for Jeff. He helped care for Frank, enjoying listening to the stories of Frank’s life and history. While Jeff will always have a passion for cars, he realized he wanted to be a part of something more meaningful.

Jeff and his wife Beth spent a lot of time talking, thinking and looking at what options they could pursue to provide a compassionate, caring healthcare company. From their shared commitment and vision, In It Together was born. He has continued to find helping others both uplifting and profoundly meaningful.

Beth Paul

In It Together RN (IITRN) is a professional nursing agency located in Vancouver, Washington. Beth Paul started this agency in October of 2016. Prior to October 2016, she provided nurse delegation and other nursing services to our community as an independent RN. She was first awarded a Medicaid nurse delegation contract in May of 2010.

Beth has been a registered nurse since 2003.  She initially worked in hospital settings, including in the Telemetry department at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in rural Oregon and on the Cardiac floor and the Coronary Care Unit at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in (insert location).  She has also taught courses at Clackamas Community College. In early 2007, she transitioned to a role as a hospice case manager at Community Home Health and Hospice in (insert location).

Beth’s varied career has enabled her to develop a wide base of nursing and assessment skills. She is comfortable serving clients throughout the life span. She has experience managing a variety of acute and chronic conditions in the home, including managing wounds and catheters. She has excellent
assessment and triage skills including extensive experience with phone triage.

Beth enjoys teaching clients, caregivers and family members, and she places a high priority on helping clients reach their personal goals regarding their care.

Maintaining her skills and awareness of best nursing practices is a priority for Beth. She is committed to continually building her knowledge base regarding the nurse delegation program. She participates in regular trainings to increase her skill set in topics such as wound care and diabetes, as well as attending local seminars on important topics like community resources and preventing elder abuse. She shares her knowledge and experience by speaking at conferences and events sponsored by the Adult Family Home Council and the Southwest Washington Elder Abuse Prevention Coalition.

Donna Bashwiner

Nursing has afforded me the privilege of never being bored! I began my career just as health care was changing its emphasis on the delivery of service in the inpatient setting to more out-patient and home care settings. This change was very much in tune with my work style preferences and nursing skills. As a result, my clinicalexperience was heavily weighted in the delivery of care in these settings. Working in these settings allowed me to connect with patients where they “lived”, perform teaching, and collaborate with other caregivers to meet the patient’s total needs.

The blending of these functions in a job made every day an exciting challenge. As
my career progressed and I obtained an advanced degree, I entered into more administrative field of work. In nursing administration, I consistently worked for non-profit hospitals or organizations that incorporated the meeting of the patient’s needs as a pillar in their mission. Again as health care went through more changes, Idiscovered a field that quickly became my passion for many years and that was Quality Improvement. Now that I want to work part-time, I have come full circle. I am back in a home care setting collaborating with caregivers and performing teaching to ensure the clients receive the best possible care in a homelike setting. This is
what I love the most about working for IITRN. The clients, the caregivers, and the office staff I work with are all wonderful human beings and excellent at what they do.

When I make a visit to a home, I look at the caregivers with admiration for doing the amazing work of being a caregiver. At the same time, I see in the face ofevery client a human being who deserves the best possible care that can be given to them in this stage of their life’s journey. I feel it is an absolute privilege to serve on this great team of IITRN and to serve our community in this manner.

Ashley

Ashley became a registered nurse in 2009. She graduated from Clark Community College with an associate degree in nursing.

Ashley worked at Fort Vancouver Convalescent Center taking care of complicated patients after discharge from the hospital. It was there that Ashley perfected a multitude of practical skills. She dressed very complex wounds, including wound vacs. She performed peritoneal dialysis, IV therapy, blood draws, and management of urinary catheters. She handled medication management and developed assessment skills.

In 2011 Ashley started working at The Vancouver Clinic as a triage nurse, where she honed her critical thinking and assessment skills. She worked 1.5 years in the nephrology department, caring for patients facing kidney disease or kidney failure. Her work involved close monitoring of labs and patient symptoms. Later, she became a float to all specialty departments clinic wide, including gastroenterology, endocrinology, rheumatology, and urgent care. With all specialties she assessed the clients in clinic, administered injections, and triaged patients over the phone.

In late 2012 Ashley transitioned to the Bloodless Surgery Department at Legacy Good Samaritan. Her job was to educate patients and doctors on bloodless alternatives for people who refused blood transfusions or the use of blood products. There she learned to appreciate medical research and best practices.

In 2014 she returned to the Vancouver Clinic, working primarily in the Pulmonology and Allergy departments. She administered IV’s and injections. Ashley also did phone triage, working closely with the doctors.

Ashley is an experienced nurse with excellent nursing skills and assessment abilities. Her current role as a nurse delegator challenges Ashley to apply her assessment skills, nursing judgement and teaching skills. She enjoys getting to know the patients and their needs. She also enjoys having a relationship with the caregivers, supporting them in providing excellent care.

Annie Bilauca graduated with her BSN from Biola University in Los Angeles, CA in 2003. Over the course of her career she has worked in many nursing specialties, including the emergency department, labor & delivery, outpatient surgery, camp nursing, and community health. She has served as a clinical instructor for bachelor’s degree nursing students. Her nursing experience has taken her overseas to Africa and south to Central America, to clinic and street ministries serving those experiencing homelessness, and to that special and endearing group of humans called Middle Schoolers. She is experienced with clients across the continuum of life, from preborn to hospice/end-of-life care. For Annie, nursing continues to prove a fulfilling career, affording countless opportunities to learn and grow. She loves working with the dynamic team at In It Together. When not at work, Annie spends her time with family, cooking, laughing, exercising, reading, and enjoying the great outdoors...or the great indoors with a good book and a nice glass of wine.

Julie has been an RN since 1987. In her 33 years of experience she has held a multitude of nursing positions that have contributed to a diverse body of nursing knowledge and skills. She began working in California at a local community hospital when HIV exploded in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. She then made a change, working in pediatrics at Stanford University Hospital until moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1995. Since that time, she has worked as a clinic RN, as a telephone advice nurse and at a local Assisted Living. She has a vast understanding of nursing across the life span and enjoys teaching and collaborate with other caregivers to provide and meet client’s needs. In addition to working with IITRN she enjoys working as a nursing instructor at a local high school. She reports that she loves working with IITRN because the office staff and other nurses are very supportive of each other and are willing to go the extra mile to provide excellent care to our clients.
When not working with IITRN or teaching nursing students Julie stays busy with a variety of other passions. Some of these are her family and the family cabin in Montana, quilting, reading and sailing. She has great memories of sailing around the San Juan Island and would like to go again and maybe take the inland passage to Alaska.

Tara O’Gorman, MSW, is the Office Manager and Staff Social Worker at In It Together.  Tara graduated with her BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Valdosta State University and her Master of Social Work from the University of Georgia.

Her career has included working with at-risk juveniles in the school system; coordinating and consulting for social and support groups for tweens, teens, and young adults on the autism spectrum; writing and editing for print and online magazines; program-specific trainings including anti-bullying and anti-substance abuse education; homeschooling her children; office support, management, and marketing.

Tara’s first experience working in healthcare began when she started at In It Together in 2017.  Her administrative and social work background blended nicely in her position, first as an office assistant and now as Office Manager and Staff Social Worker.  She enjoys working with a diverse team of experienced nurses and office staff and helping caregivers, social workers, and families coordinate and maintain top-level care for their clients.

Meet Julia Scott one of our newest team members, she has been a registered nurse for over 40 years; my nursing background is in medical/surgical nursing, labor and delivery, and school nursing.  I was also in the Air Force Reserves for nearly 30 years as a flight nurse and nurse administrator, a part of my nursing career that I dearly loved.  I was deployed several times, both overseas and stateside, during my time in the military.  I have kept busy completing many unfinished tasks around the house during the Covid-19 pandemic.  I have even pulled out a cross-stich project that I started in 1991 during my first deployment!  I have been with In It Together RN since March of 2020 and thoroughly enjoy the staff and the work that we do in the community.