It’s an hour before patients will arrive, but the clinic is already buzzing.
Nurses punch notes into their computers, a psychologist attaches a tiny stuffed animal next to his badge, and a physician’s assistant and obstetrician are catching up on today’s cases.
At the center of the chaos is Shauna Mae Filion, better known as “Momma Shauna.”
Some say she’s the glue that holds everyone together. The one who lightens the mood on hard days, who laughs and cries with whoever needs it most. She welcomes patients to the clinic and calls them when they miss an appointment. If they don’t answer, she’s known to drive the streets looking for them.
For the last seven years, Shauna has worked as a medical assistant care coordinator for the SUPeRAD (Substance Use and Pregnancy – Recovery, Addiction and Dependence) clinic. Since its creation, the program has decreased the number of cases where babies are delivered on the street or in hotel rooms.
Shauna’s dedication to serving this special population of women who have a substance use disorder and are pregnant or postpartum comes from a personal place. She has daughters of her own, and she treats her patients the way she would want someone to treat her family — with love.
She also sees herself in them. Once, a long time ago, Shauna could have been in their shoes. She’s been in recovery now for 25 years, and she knows too well the judgment, isolation, and stigma around admitting to using drugs.
“I know when you are willing to ask for help, you are at your lowest point,” Shauna says. “My goal is to help every single person I interact with have some kind of self-esteem after their interactions with me. I want people to feel loved and cared for because everybody deserves to be loved and cared for.”
Shauna became sober after her mother challenged her to turn over a new leaf. Her mother was fighting leukemia, and she made Shauna pinkie-promise that they would both fight for their lives. Though her mother passed away, Shauna stayed on the path to recovery and never looked back.
She stayed drug-free and had children, who are now having children of their own. These days, outside of work, she spends time with her family—and the four cats who keep her company when the kids are busy.
At work, Shauna is in constant motion. She buzzes around the clinic, on her feet the whole day, including those moments where she can squeeze in a quick lunch, which isn’t often. As keeper of the “bat phone” — a cell phone with a cat screensaver and bright red case — Shauna is the first contact for most of the people who come to SUPeRAD.
Local jails call to coordinate visits for their inmates, treatment centers call to find out if their clients can seek care, and patients themselves call that number for advice and help. Shauna keeps the phone in her pocket whenever she’s at the clinic. She always answers it on the first ring.
At about 8:45 am, 15 minutes before the clinic officially opens at 9:00 am, names start appearing on a giant white board that Shauna manages. It’s a way to keep track of who is in what room, and where they need to go next. Sections are named for the important people patients need to see while they’re here: OB, Lab, Psych, and Shauna.
Sometimes, her time with patients is just a matter of checking in, sharing the bat phone number, and finding out how they’re doing. Other times, it’s staying with them while they receive their first ultrasound or holding their hand while they have an exam. She counsels patients on the importance of being on time and encourages them to stick with the recovery process.
These few moments forge a deep trust and bond with her patients. A few years ago, the entire clinic was devastated when a patient’s baby passed away. The mother had developed such a close connection to Shauna during her treatment that they put Shauna’s name in the obituary.
“For patients, Shauna is the constant,” says Jasmin Charles, PA at SUPeRAD. “This clinic is built on a foundation of showing up, and Shauna is the definition of SUPeRAD and showing up.”
Sometimes, when it’s needed, Shauna gives tough love. But today, her first patient gets a hug and the kind of treatment that earned Shauna her nickname. For some of these women, Shauna is the mother they never had.
“I saw my daughter on Sunday, for Mother’s Day,” her patient says with excitement.
“How big is she now?” Shauna asks.
“Eight months—she is the cutest baby ever,” the new mom gushes, pulling out her cell phone to show Shauna a picture.
“Oh, she is beautiful,” Shauna says. “I’m so proud of you—SO proud of you.”
This is the first time her patient has seen her baby since she delivered her, Shauna explains. She left the baby — her first — with the baby’s father so she could go to treatment. She’s 25 years old.
“I love you,” her patient says as the exam room door starts to close. “I love you too, honey,” Shauna says, beaming.
These are the moments that drive her passion, helping these new mothers through their disease and seeing them thrive. She worked for 10 years in urgent care, in cardiology for five years, and in women’s health for 10 years before joining the SUPeRAD clinic, but this is the place that feels like home.
“This clinic allows me to give back,” Shauna says. “Just watching these girls blossom is so fulfilling. It helps heal pieces of my heart.”
By 11 am, all of the slots on the white board are full — and Shauna has already placed a call to one of the patients who didn’t show. She flits from room to room, oohing at the toes of a tiny baby rocking in a car seat and introducing herself to a new patient. She gives hugs and high fives and asks, “How are you?” “How’s the baby?”
She also says “I love you” often.
In the background, a baby in an exam room starts to cry. Shauna is talking about the importance of helping people know where they can get help, and then she pauses.
“Whose baby is crying?” she calls out to the room. “Do they need Momma Shauna to come rescue them?”
Without waiting for an answer, she heads in that direction.
By Amy Choate-Nielsen; Photos by Louis Arévalo