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Insider: Christman leads ER vs. COVID-19
5/13/2020 11:00:00 AM | Softball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Ex-GCU pitcher directs Tucson critical care unit at age 28
When her Grand Canyon softball career ended, Janelle Christman questioned whether that athletic passion could ever be matched in her life and whether she could ever be part of a team like those Lopes.
Those answers came as rapidly as her medical career's rise and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christman, a GCU pitcher from 2011 to 2014, already is leading on the front line of the coronavirus battle as the Oro Valley Hospital director of emergency services and critical care services in Tucson.
"Reflecting over the past few months, I have always wondered why I am where I am and why I shot up so quickly, but I think maybe this was why – to be part of a team that weathers the storm and be the best we can for the community," Christman said.
The Tucson native finished her GCU undergraduate degree in Nursing in three years and completed a master's degree in Nursing during the summer that followed her senior season's WAC championship.
Christman, slated to receive a GCU doctoral degree later this year, was promoted to her current position in December at age 28. Most peers reach the role in their 40s, and she just was was getting her bearings when the pandemic shook the world. But she showed how prepared she was.
"There are lot of different layers to the COVID-19 pandemic," Christman said. "There is the fear for your patients because you want everyone to be OK. There is fear for yourself and your families because you don't know what you're walking into each day. There's fear for the health care system that we won't be able to manage the potential chaos that could ensue.
"The community support and the way our team has rallied around each other and our patients has been phenomenal to watch. It's one of those things that you hope you never have to do, but the support we've gotten and the way our team has responded have been extraordinary."
Christman was ready for the challenge because of all that she sacrificed at GCU. She missed practices and even games for clinical duties. She missed Commencement for a road game. She made up throwing sessions outside of practices, classes, clinical duties and resident assistant work hours but still was regarded as an ideal teammate.
"Janelle is driven to be successful and she is that, in all areas of her life," Lopes 17-year softball head coach Ann Pierson said. "Since her graduation, Janelle has been that kid that I talk about as an example of going after all that you want, that you can achieve anything if you commit to it. She was a true blessing to have in our program and I couldn't be more proud of her in all that she's doing today. Her selflessness allows her to be a great nurse and her leadership allows her promotions in her career.
"Janelle left the program better than when she arrived at GCU and continues to make us proud in all that she's done since."
Christman's hospital is a certified stroke center and a cardiac receiving center for heart attacks, but her recent months have been consumed by COVID-19 management and the multi-tiered disaster plans needed to equip her department.
She is not permitted to discuss fatalities but her county, Pima, reported a COVID-19 death count of 136 through Tuesday.
"The hardest part is to watch those who have had to suffer the worst of this and not have their families with them," Christman said. "Our hospital has done a really, really good job of connecting loved ones (through FaceTime).
"We've also brought people off ventilators and sent them home with loved ones. It's moving like you never would be able to experience outside something like this."
Christman often mentions her team, for which she is like a coach. The Lopes athletic career ties are not lost on her. Her Doctor of Education in Heath Care Administration studies how the teamwork that addresses critical stress incidence has roots in sports.
"The athletic atmosphere at GCU and the emphasis on teamwork and community has translated so seamlessly for me, moving into emergency medicine and health care," Christman said. "It's kind of fascinating. It's nothing I would've anticipated. I would've never been able to be where I'm at without the training, coaching and learning that I did as part of a team. It's 100% transferrable.
"I think I'm right where I should be right now."
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 Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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Those answers came as rapidly as her medical career's rise and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christman, a GCU pitcher from 2011 to 2014, already is leading on the front line of the coronavirus battle as the Oro Valley Hospital director of emergency services and critical care services in Tucson.
"Reflecting over the past few months, I have always wondered why I am where I am and why I shot up so quickly, but I think maybe this was why – to be part of a team that weathers the storm and be the best we can for the community," Christman said.
The Tucson native finished her GCU undergraduate degree in Nursing in three years and completed a master's degree in Nursing during the summer that followed her senior season's WAC championship.Christman, slated to receive a GCU doctoral degree later this year, was promoted to her current position in December at age 28. Most peers reach the role in their 40s, and she just was was getting her bearings when the pandemic shook the world. But she showed how prepared she was.
"There are lot of different layers to the COVID-19 pandemic," Christman said. "There is the fear for your patients because you want everyone to be OK. There is fear for yourself and your families because you don't know what you're walking into each day. There's fear for the health care system that we won't be able to manage the potential chaos that could ensue.
"The community support and the way our team has rallied around each other and our patients has been phenomenal to watch. It's one of those things that you hope you never have to do, but the support we've gotten and the way our team has responded have been extraordinary."
Christman was ready for the challenge because of all that she sacrificed at GCU. She missed practices and even games for clinical duties. She missed Commencement for a road game. She made up throwing sessions outside of practices, classes, clinical duties and resident assistant work hours but still was regarded as an ideal teammate.
"Janelle is driven to be successful and she is that, in all areas of her life," Lopes 17-year softball head coach Ann Pierson said. "Since her graduation, Janelle has been that kid that I talk about as an example of going after all that you want, that you can achieve anything if you commit to it. She was a true blessing to have in our program and I couldn't be more proud of her in all that she's doing today. Her selflessness allows her to be a great nurse and her leadership allows her promotions in her career.
"Janelle left the program better than when she arrived at GCU and continues to make us proud in all that she's done since."
Christman's hospital is a certified stroke center and a cardiac receiving center for heart attacks, but her recent months have been consumed by COVID-19 management and the multi-tiered disaster plans needed to equip her department.
She is not permitted to discuss fatalities but her county, Pima, reported a COVID-19 death count of 136 through Tuesday.
"The hardest part is to watch those who have had to suffer the worst of this and not have their families with them," Christman said. "Our hospital has done a really, really good job of connecting loved ones (through FaceTime).
"We've also brought people off ventilators and sent them home with loved ones. It's moving like you never would be able to experience outside something like this."
Christman often mentions her team, for which she is like a coach. The Lopes athletic career ties are not lost on her. Her Doctor of Education in Heath Care Administration studies how the teamwork that addresses critical stress incidence has roots in sports.
"The athletic atmosphere at GCU and the emphasis on teamwork and community has translated so seamlessly for me, moving into emergency medicine and health care," Christman said. "It's kind of fascinating. It's nothing I would've anticipated. I would've never been able to be where I'm at without the training, coaching and learning that I did as part of a team. It's 100% transferrable.
"I think I'm right where I should be right now."
Â
 Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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