She’s spent nearly 40 years learning her way around IU Health

Terri Burse knows the history of the hospital and the best ways to get around.

By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org

As she steers a patient through the halls of IU Health University Hospital Terri Burse looks up to the mirrors to make sure the coast is clear. Like driving a car, she hugs the right side of the corridor when an oncoming transport comes her way.

Burse (she helps others pronounce her name by saying, “It rhymes with ‘nurse’”) has been working at IU Health for 37 years.

“I put my daughter through nursing school and watched her grow up while I was working here,” said Burse, who has three granddaughters.

As she moves a patient from the fourth floor of University Hospital to the basement for a chest x-ray, Burse talks about the physical changes in the hospital.

“There used to be a cafeteria on the fourth floor,” she said. She mentions that the original hospital entrance was on Michigan Street; at one time there was a patio and patient drop-off area where Simon Cancer Center now stands; and a tunnel that runs from University Hospital to what is now Eskenazi Hospital.

Burse started her career with IU Health on Jan. 4, 1988, three years after graduating from Arsenal Technical High School. She had sisters who worked at Methodist Hospital as a nurse and unit secretary, and they told Burse it was a good place to work.

She started working in environmental services and then moved into a ‘patient host/hostess program.’ “I did a variety of things from cleaning rooms, transporting and feeding and discharging patients to stocking supplies,” said Burse.

For a time, she worked at IU Health Beltway Surgery Center, Carmel as a surgical assistant, stocking and cleaning rooms and preparing for surgery. She then went to Methodist Hospital working in environmental services. She eventually ended up as a patient transporter at University Hospital.

“This is my favorite job because I love meeting the patients. They tell you stories and it’s fun to hear their background. My friends say, ‘I’m a social butterfly,’ because I know so many people,” said Burse.

She’s transported inmates, expectant mothers, and patients preparing for organ transplantation. She knows every passage throughout the hospital – north, south, east and west – and works in various areas.

Burse said she transports about 18 patients a day and averages 16,000 steps.

Standing at 5’3” many people look at her and say, “So you’re going to take me?” Burse laughs, positions the height of the bed and down the hall she rolls.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this job. It’s been the best thing.” Over the years, she’s made many friends through her co-workers. Outside of work she enjoys bowling, hanging out with family, and going out for lunch.