Prayer is a daily practice for Genesis Berroa as she welcomes patients, family members and team members at the registration desk at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange. In her role, Berroa oversees patient registration, scheduling and aftercare, often serving as one of the first and last points of contact for patients. Every day she and her team greet people who are at the hospital for a variety of reasons, carrying a variety of burdens, worries and responsibilities. Some are there for walk-in services or routine lab work; some have scheduled tests or imaging; and others are preparing for surgery.
“Whenever I see that they’re stressed, I ask if I can pray for them,” Berroa said. “Praying in the moment helps keep me grounded. Just taking a moment to stop and listen, to breathe and pray to help find a solution, to pause and reflect allows me to receive insight into what I should say or do — or if I just need to listen.”
From a young age, Berroa always wanted to help people. Her mother worked as a medical assistant, which sparked her interest in pursuing a career in healthcare. Her father was the kind of person who could get anyone talking.
“I took on that trait of going out and asking people how their day is going. I feel you can get anyone’s life story if you just talk to them,” Berroa said. “People now are on their phones looking down. I have to be the one to look up.”
Recently, when a patient came in stressed before surgery, Berroa asked if they could pray together. As they did, Berroa saw the anxiety lift from the patient’s face. Another day, an elderly patient was anxious that a test he needed wasn’t marked as urgent in his orders. Berroa called the department to help him get scheduled for the test right away, saving him from having to make a return trip to the hospital to get it done.
On another occasion, an elderly patient thought they’d lost their wallet, and Berroa helped search across multiple departments before determining it had been left at home. The situation escalated, however, when the patient realized they didn’t have enough gas in their car to make it back home. Berroa offered a solution, accompanying the patient to a nearby gas station where she paid for their gas.
When the patient offered to pay her back, she politely declined and prayed over him before parting ways.
What felt like a natural response to Berroa in the moment left a lasting impression. “[Berroa] is an outstanding person and an outstanding team member. She goes above and beyond for all of the patients and she truly does make them feel cared for,” said Pilar Ortega, patient care technician at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange. “It’s a blessing being able to work with someone who cares about people. Someone who doesn’t just treat them like they are a number but in fact a being worthy of love. She walks by faith and not by sight and that alone speaks volumes.”
UChicago Medicine AdventHealth