Jill Schramm/MDN Arvin Abrea, director of nursing at Trinity Homes in Minot, works with nurse Virginia Torrelavega at a nursing station March 29. Both natives of the Philippines, Abrea came to Minot in 2016 and Torrelavega was among the first from the Philippines to come to Trinity Homes in 2013.

It took a trip across an ocean, but Arvin Abrea has found his calling in long-term care nursing.

A native of the Philippines, Abrea came to Minot in 2016 to work in nursing. He gained his U.S. citizenship a couple of years ago, and last July, Abrea became a nurse manager for two units at Trinity Homes. This past February he was appointed director of nursing for the facility.

Nursing wasn’t Abrea’s first career choice. His parents both were accountants, and he also earned a four-year accounting management degree in the Philippines. At the time he graduated, the need for nurses overseas was great, and the potential to come to the United States was generating interest in nursing in the Philippines, where English is taught in the schools.

However, Abrea was first attracted to nursing by the clean-looking, attractive white uniforms and caps that nurses – mostly female – wear in the Philippines. Men were not common in the nursing profession.

“It just became popular when it became our gate pass to work overseas, so that was the motivation for most of us who wanted to try the greener pastures,” Abrea said.

Finishing two years of nursing training in 2005, he worked in the Philippines until moving to the United Kingdom in 2010. He said he originally had planned to go to California, but the employer who was to hire him closed due to a recession.

In the U.K., he went on to earn his bachelor of science in International Healthcare and Nursing at Northamptonshire, graduating with honors.

“I learned a lot,” he said. “I gained a lot of confidence there, working in a First-World country setting.”

In the Philippines, healthcare resources are limited, although nurses always find a way to meet the needs of their patients, Abrea said.

“Life as a nurse is more easy here, knowing that we have the latest technology and the latest resources,” he said.

In 2013, he received an invitation to come to Minot from Trinity Health, which had begun seeking nurses from the Philippines to address a local nursing shortage.

“But I started to like U.K.,” Abrea said. “The country is just so small you can visit anywhere you want to. But then, I’m thinking, my dream is really to go to U.S.”

He was close to the point where he could apply for U.K. citizenship, so found himself at a crossroads. Still, it took three years to finalize his decision to come to the United States, and he kept his U.K. nursing license for a couple more years – just in case he changed his mind about America.

Trinity provided travel and initial lodging assistance for Abrea to come to Minot. When his three-year contract with Trinity expired, he became a traveling nurse. He spent time in Tennessee and enjoyed that state but decided work as a travel nurse wasn’t for him.

He returned to Minot to work in the mental health field with North Central Human Services, gaining experience in psychiatric nursing for a couple of years. Abrea enrolled to become a mental health nurse practitioner, thinking that would be his new career path. But the draw of long-term care was too strong. Even while working with North Central, he worked part-time at Trinity Homes because of his love for long-term care.

“As a nurse, I’ve worked in different fields and units – OR, ER, ICU, medical unit, medical-surgical. But when I experienced long-term care, it was a different experience for me because we don’t actually have long-term care in Philippines,” he said.

“When I went to U.K., that was my first experience to be with long-term care, and I loved it, taking care of our elderly,” he said. “I really loved that part, taking care of them in that stage of their lives. Then when I get here, nursing homes are kind of different because it is no longer the nursing home. It’s like a swing bed or a step down from the hospital.”

He enjoys not only the work but also the people.

“I love talking to older people. I just love them, especially the people with dementia and Alzheimer’s,” he said. “So when there was a spot open for a unit manager, why not try it? After six months there was an opportunity to be a DON. I said I’m not doing it because it must be a very challenging role. But I was like, what else can I give as a nurse? I have tried almost everything, I guess, and then the thing is, I can’t even leave this place because I love the residents here.”

He took the job and feels confident in it because of the support of his co-workers.

“I know that I can count on them. I will not be alone,” he said. “But before deciding on all of this, I always sit down with my residents and ask for their advice. Every crossroad of my decision-making, they give me wise advice. They’re very wise. They have life wisdom.”

As director of nursing, Abrea is responsible for maintaining high standards of nursing care and compliance with regulatory practices.

“I enjoy the fact that I can see the whole facility. If I need to correct something, educate, implement to meet the needs of our residents, then I have the power to do that,” Abrea said. “If I have a plan to meet the residents’ needs, I feel like I am a lobbyist. I go to every director and present my plan.”

Meeting face to face with staff to get input makes plans easier to establish and implement, he explained.

“Arvin has shown genuine concern for the staff he works with as well as the patients and residents he cares for,” Trinity Homes Administrator Wade Peterson said in announcing Abrea’s recent promotion. “I believe he has all the qualities and skills to be an exceptional leader.”

Abrea said he isn’t in his office much because if not in meetings with other staff, he is making the rounds of the building, interacting with residents so they feel the presence of management and know where they and their families can bring any concerns. He also makes the rounds of the building to talk to staff.

“It’s no longer a desk job for the director,” he said, crediting the push to get out among the residents and staff to the example set by Peterson.

Abrea also tries to attend meet-and-greet events with local nursing students to let them know how interesting long-term care can be for nurses. Because it caters to patients transitioning from the hospital, long-term facilities present opportunities for nurses to be involved in medical care, he said. Abrea added his varied experiences in medicine all have been valuable in the work he does at Trinity Homes, whether its hands-on nursing or the knowledge of available mental health resources.

Beyond the workplace, Abrea appreciates the support and cohesion of the Filipino community in Minot. He joined a Filipino choral group that sings and dances at assisted living and nursing homes. At Christmas, they included a Filipino song among their traditional holiday numbers.

“We are planning to continue it, just giving back to the community in our own little way,” he said.

Even when not performing with the choral group, Abrea sings and dances to entertain residents.

“I love serenading them,” he said. “They love it. It’s making them happy.”

He said there’s a fulfillment in nursing that makes him feel good about his career switch years ago, even if his uniform isn’t white. He’s content to wear the colored scrubs.

“But I really like the white,” he laughed.