Pi Beta Phi - University of Illinois

PAGE 2 A LIFETIME OF SKILLS AT WORK Susan Casey Bleasdale, M.D. Leads Response to COVID-19 in Her Community S usan Casey Bleasdale, M.D. '91 has always known she wanted to be a physician. It was just a matter of what specialty. When she did a rotation with the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), she found her calling to become an infectious disease specialist. Susan is the physician lead for Infection Prevention and Antimicrobial Stewardship and the Chief Quality Officer at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UIH). She has helped UIH achieve the Infectious Disease Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence designation and prepare and maintain readiness for high consequence infectious diseases. "What I like about this area of medicine is you have to understand the entire body system and act as a detective to figure out the problem," said Susan. As COVID-19 sweeps the globe, Susan has been busier than ever working with her colleagues to contain the virus and provide care with proper safety measures. "It is ever evolving," said Susan. "This is a novel coronavirus and we learn something new every day as we try to understand it." Susan is leading the pandemic response for the hospitals and campus. "We are doing research for treatments and looking for outcomes to decrease hospitalizations and the need for ventilators." Susan also looks over public health measures like sheltering in place, which have proven to be very helpful for the hospitals to relieve overcrowding. Susan's career and most recently her role in COVID-19 response and containment takes skills in strategic planning and project management — skills she gained, in part, from her membership in Pi Beta Phi. Being part of Illinois Zeta offered some of Susan's first leadership opportunities. As philanthropy and membership chairman, she exercised these skills and has brought them into her career. The large scale project management of the recruitment process as membership chairman provided key organizational skills. This combined with the philanthropic goals of Pi Beta Phi aligned with Susan's career goals to serve others. "Pi Phi allowed me to think outside myself and volunteer and get involved in philanthropy, to grow and mature," said Susan. "A lot was being exposed to great women with similar goals and objectives." She still looks back with fondness on the many memories with her sisters in Illinois Zeta. Memories of living in the house and scootering around town with her sisters remain close to her heart. Her Pi Phi sisters are some of her best friends and she is thankful for the sustained relationships with them and network they have created. She knows Illinois Zeta collegians are going through a uniquely challenging time and hopes they remember to stay connected. While it is a difficult time to be separated from sisters and loved ones, it is important, Susan says, for the future health of this country. "This generation will be remembered for the sacrifices they made and challenges they overcame," she said. You can reach Susan at bleasdal@uic.edu. G oing through recruitment, it wasn't difficult to define the values of many chapters on campus, but it was impossible for Kathy Graham Gadler '71 to put a label on the women of Pi Beta Phi. "The diverse membership was appealing to me, and I knew I could grow, be myself and not be molded by a group," said Kathy. Her undergraduate years at Pi Beta Phi were only the jumping off period of her Pi Phi sisterhood. "I formed lasting friendships with women who to this day are my best friends," said Kathy. After earning her degree from the College of Communications, Kathy worked in academic publishing, then made the decision to be an at-home mother while her children were young. When it was time to rejoin the workforce, Kathy followed a calling and earned BSN and MSN degrees to begin work in hospice as a case manager. "There is certainly a spiritual element," said Kathy. "The patient is at the center of all care provided, yet the circle of loved ones surrounding the patient is also part of hospice care." Kathy says it's a privilege to be part of her patients' last chapter as she makes it as comfortable as possible for every person. To honor her dedication to her patients, Kathy was honored to receive the Oregon Nurse of the Year Award in 2012. Since COVID-19, hospice care has changed many of the normal protocols for Kathy and her patients. Hospice patients are now in social isolation as they are experiencing their final decline. Rather than face-to-face visits, Kathy and her colleagues have been making video visits or phone call check-ins daily. Only if a patient is in need of symptom management do they make physical patient visits. She is finding the conversation on the phone turning to a more social interaction, especially when talking with the spouses and loved ones of her patients. "I cannot imagine the sense of isolation they feel as they face the end of life and complicated grief. COVID- 19 has changed everything about living and dying," said Kathy. Kathy hopes people learn to take nothing for granted and think outside the box from this pandemic experience. She has experienced firsthand how everything we thought we knew for certain has changed. "More than anything, I feel people around the globe have discovered the humanity within us all, as we redefine our lives," said Kathy. As Illinois Zeta collegians adjust to this new reality, Kathy wants them to know there is something waiting for them: the Lifelong Commitment of Pi Phi. "Pi Phi involvement should not be something lost as part of the quarantine," she said. She hopes everyone can look for joy around them, like the joy of the Illinois Zeta sisterhood. Kathy knows this connection will survive and strengthen during these difficult times for collegians and alumnae. You can reach Kathy at kgadler@gmail.com. THE STRENGTH OF PI PHI Kathy Graham Gadler Adapts to Our Ever-Changing Reality

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