{"id":22160,"date":"2022-05-19T16:58:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T16:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=22160"},"modified":"2023-09-13T16:09:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T23:09:10","slug":"three-sisters-one-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/19\/three-sisters-one-passion","title":{"rendered":"Three sisters, one passion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Sisters<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Meier sisters, Hannah, Rachel and Sophie, are proof that a person\u2019s life is not defined by its hardships. Rather, it is defined by how one overcomes adversities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to genetics, all three sisters suffer from health issues that leave them hospitalized for weeks at a time, creating barriers to pursuing their education and starting their careers. It would be far easier for them to give up \u2014 but time and time again, they have chosen to fight against their disease and for their future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Meier recalled a particularly challenging time in which she was hospitalized for an ulcerative colitis flare \u2014 a bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract \u2014 just as she was finishing her prerequisites and applying to nursing programs. \u201cI sat in that hospital bed for a week absolutely devastated. But I refused to give up,\u201d she said. \u201cOur paths to degrees have had lots of roadblocks and detours to say the least, but nothing will ever steer us off track.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driven and determined, all three sisters are students at the University of Washington Bothell, pursuing degrees in the School of Nursing & Health Studies. \u201cOur experiences definitely pushed us into the health care field,\u201d said Rachel Meier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found that the nurses and doctors who had experienced their own health issues were the ones who provided the best care. They understood where we were coming from and had this whole other level of compassion and empathy,\u201d she said. \u201cIt made us want to bring more of that into the practice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From suffering comes strength <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Hannah
Hannah Meier, senior in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Meier is the oldest sister and graduated last year from Lake Washington Institute of Technology with a degree in Nursing. She had previously attended UW Bothell in the hopes of becoming a genetics counselor but after being hospitalized for the first time due to her ulcerative colitis flare, she felt pulled to change her degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe nurses were so steadfast. They were these rocks in this stormy ocean for me to cling on to,\u201d she said. \u201cI admired how they took care of me, and I thought what better way to live my life than to give back to the field that was helping me so much. They are just amazing people who helped me feel better, and I thought, \u2018Okay, that\u2019s a life worth living.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now working as a registered nurse, Hannah Meier is back at UW Bothell pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing. \u201cI\u2019m so glad to be back at the University. The faculty are unparalleled and are always working with me to help me reach that finish line,\u201d she said. \u201cThey make me feel less alone in overcoming my health-related obstacles because I know they will do whatever they can to help me succeed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tackling issues as a team <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Planning to work in a field related to her sister\u2019s is middle child, Rachel Meier. She was plagued with difficult health issues in high school and became keenly aware of the policy-related issues that impact a doctor\u2019s ability to provide adequate care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rachel
Rachel Meier, senior in the School of Nursing & Health Studies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many regulations that stand in the way of patients receiving equitable and accessible care \u2014 not to mention the barrier of the costs of different diagnostics, treatments and medications which are often extremely expensive,\u201d she said. \u201cIn fact, Hannah has a medication that she needs to take every day that without insurance coverage would cost more than she pays for her mortgage each month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help her sister and other nurses provide the best care possible, Rachel Meier plans to go into the policy side of health care and eliminate the barriers patients face in accessing essential care. \u201cHannah is the most amazing nurse,\u201d she said. \u201cI will be relying on her to tell me what\u2019s wrong and what needs changing. Then I\u2019ll work with lawmakers to fix it. I already know we will be a great team.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sisters united <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sophie Meier is the youngest of the three and will also be playing a critical role on the sisters\u2019 team. She got sick in childhood and was constantly in and out of the hospital. As a result, she knew from a very young age that she would one day enter the medical field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sophie
Sophie Meier, sophomore in the School of Nursing & Health Studies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something she has always wanted to do,\u201d Rachel Meier said. \u201cIt\u2019s her calling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Sophie Meier would always ask for \u201cdoctor toys.\u201d At five years old, she loved to play with stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. \u201cOne year she got crutches for Christmas which was just about her favorite present ever,\u201d Rachel Meier fondly recalled. \u201cShe was so excited and played with them all of the time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a young adult, Sophie Meier plans to go into hospital administration. \u201cI want to focus on how we can change patient care so people who have chronic illness and go to the hospital a lot don\u2019t have to feel nervous about going,\u201d she said. \u201cI want them to know that when they come to the hospital, they are going to be taken care of and understood.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pain, passion and purpose <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That sentiment strikes a chord with all three sisters, who because of their age and gender, felt their symptoms weren\u2019t always taken seriously. Rachel Meier, for example, had lost a lot of weight because of her illness and was continually assumed to have an eating disorder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was frustrating because I felt like no one was listening to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI was a teenage girl who was underweight, so they just assumed I was anorexic. I think if I was a lot older or if I was a boy that wouldn\u2019t have happened. But the point is it shouldn\u2019t happen at all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hopefully \u2014 with Rachel Meier changing health care policies, Sophie Meier implementing the policies in the hospital and Hannah Meier carrying out the policy changes \u2014 it no longer will. \u201cThis is our calling,\u201d Hannah Meier said. \u201cWe always joke that you can take the girls out of nursing, but you can\u2019t take the nursing out of the girls.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lively dinner conversations <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A project the sisters are particularly excited to tackle together is consolidating care. \u201cOne thing we have all experienced being in the hospital with our own issues is the fact that the patient care is not consolidated,\u201d Rachel Meier said. \u201cYou have someone at 5 a.m. doing a blood draw then someone coming in at 6 a.m. to take your blood pressure. It\u2019s hard to have more than two hours of uninterrupted time which is difficult when you are trying to rest and recover.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the nurse\u2019s perspective, Hannah Meier acknowledges that if a patient has medication due in the middle of the night, then it needs to be administered. \u201cBut if a patient has to have vital signs read at 5 a.m. and a lab at 6 a.m., it makes more sense to combine them so the patient can rest afterwards,\u201d she said. \u201cA person\u2019s immune system can take a serious plunge if they aren\u2019t getting adequate rest. Depriving patients of that is counterintuitive to the goal of healing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sisters spend most of their time at the family dinner table discussing how they will bring this dream project to life while also brainstorming others. \u201cOur conversations are quite lively,\u201d said Rachel Meier. \u201cWe are all passionate about the same things, so we get to have these really meaningful and in-depth conversations. They bring us closer together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huskies at heart <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To gain the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle these projects, they are finishing their degrees at UW Bothell, a school they are equally passionate about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur dad used to take us on daddy-daughter dates to the UW basketball games,\u201d Hannah Meier said, \u201cso all of us have always wanted to be Huskies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were drawn to UW Bothell in particular because of its big school resources and its small community feel. \u201cHere at the University, the professors know your name, and you get an education that is personalized and tailored for you,\u201d Rachel Meier said. \u201cThe professors take the time to get to know you as a human, not just a student, and take care of you in a holistic way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have gained friends in professors and relationships where I can collaborate with them after college or in my master\u2019s program. It\u2019s been amazing, and I wouldn\u2019t trade the experience for the world. It\u2019s a top-level college experience.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sisters Hannah, Rachel and Sophie have a number of things in common — including their school, their major and their goals for the health care field. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,197,200,204],"tags":[],"school":[420],"class_list":["post-22160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-news-releases","category-profiles","category-students","school-school-of-nhs"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nThree sisters, one passion - 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