Health Services Coordinator Jo Buczko, has been at PCC for nearly 20 years. One of her main priorities has been to make students aware of the health services provided on campus. “I love my job. I can be a support to student success,” she said.
Buczko said that she has a great team of people who work with her and that she is able to be creative in her work because of support from the administration.
“We have a comprehensive health service program for a community college setting,” Buczko said. “We network with outside agencies and look for free or low-cost services for students.”
She hopes to offer more services to students by hiring another full-time registered nurse and a health educator who can promote outreach and education.
According to office manager Daisy Ung, Buczko works for the needs of the students.
“She is always thinking about students and the health center, and she is always bringing new things on board,” Ung said.
Buczko considers herself a health resource on campus and for the campus community. She began her association with PCC in 1970, when she entered the LVN program as a student. She was then one of ten students to be accepted into PCC’s RN career ladder program.
Early in her career she worked at Huntington Hospital for two years and then worked at Children’s Hospital as a general staff member for two years before becoming manager and working for another two.
She then decided to go back to school at CSU Los Angeles in to obtain a bachelor’s in nursing degree; there, she got into its nurse practitioner’s program.
Through her connection with CSULA Buczko was able to work at Kaiser Permanente. After graduation, she worked there for five years as a nurse practitioner in internal medicine.
After leaving Kaiser, she worked for ten years in a chemical dependency program and headed up a team to identify pregnant women using drugs.
She came to PCC in 1992 as a part-time nurse practitioner and was hired as Health Services Coordinator in 1996.
In the years she has been in this position, she has worked to make the various health services known to students and has made a lasting impact on those who work for her.
“[Buczko] is patient, knowledgeable and always has an open door policy,” said Susan Lee, a college aide. “The success of the department is in the coordinator. She is the leader and she leads well.”
Ung said that Buczko has taught her so much.
“She taught me to look beyond what is being presented to us,” she said. “As a clinician, coordinator and teacher she does an outstanding job. She opens the students’ eyes.
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