Cassie Farmer has always had a passion for geriatric care and has worked in many roles caring for patients including Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM), ICU and PCU care settings, Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) and neurology.
“I’ve always had a love of science,” says Farmer. “Both of my grandmothers were nurses and one worked in long-term care. I was able to accompany her to work on many occasions and really enjoyed my time interacting with the residents and talking to the nurses. It really planted a seed for me to go into nursing and into geriatrics specifically.
Farmer shares that one critical aspect of geriatrics is palliative care as most patients she sees can have multiple comorbidities affecting their quality of life. For her, the transition between geriatric care and palliative care felt very natural.
“I even had a very personal connection to Paradigm Health even before becoming a member of the palliative care team,” Farmer says. “My father was a patient with Paradigm a few years ago, starting on the palliative service and transitioning to hospice prior to his passing. Since then, I have collaborated with Paradigm Health team members on multiple occasions to care for patients. My experiences have always been overwhelmingly positive so I was excited to join the team.”
An emphasis Farmer says Paradigm Health places on teamwork and collaboration drew her to the palliative care position.
“Through community-based palliative care, management of chronic symptoms and stressors of an illness can be managed by someone like me,” says Farmer. “We can assist patients and families in managing the everyday symptoms of a chronic illness and work and collaborate with other patient caregivers to provide an improved quality of life.”
In her spare time, Farmer enjoys spending time with her children. She likes to try new things like restaurants and activities, travel to places she’s never been before throughout the United States at least once a year. Farmer raises chickens and goats and enjoys biking with her significant other. Her goal for 2023: Participate in the Hilly Hundred event in Bloomington this fall.
At Paradigm Health a nurse practitioner like Farmer works closely with each patient’s primary care provider and any specialists they see to ensure that they are getting thorough care that improves their quality of life by focusing on what really matters to the patient and their family. Her knowledge, experience and compassion for caregiving are what Paradigm Health is committed to offering patients and families each day.
