TFC's Manic Monday

Patients and ambulances and teamwork, oh my! You may ask, what do these three things have in common? Well, that sums up our July 15th manic Monday. While any day at the clinic can be hectic, busy and a little crazy -- this day in particular proved to us again how we can handle emergency situations while still running a full clinic.

That morning we had a patient walk in with complaints of heart palpitations and trouble breathing. Our bilingual receptionist immediately knew this was an emergency manner, however she remained calm and asked him additional clarifying questions so we could know what our next actions would be. We knew the best plan of action would be to send him to the Emergency Room via ambulance for evaluation. However, the patient was hesitant to go to the ER by ambulance. Once again, our bilingual receptionist assured him that would be the best solution, and 9-1-1 was called. Our Medical Operations Coordinator stayed on with line the Dispatcher answering questions, our Executive Director sat with the patient in our waiting room, our student Pharmacist brought over the emergency kit from the Pharmacy so our nurse could give the patient 4 baby aspirin recommended by the EMS Dispatcher and our Office Manager waited out front for the EMS. The EMS arrived within minutes and the patient was assisted out to the ambulance for evaluation before being transported to St. Vincent Carmel. Our Executive Director stayed with the patient as he was being evaluated to help interpret. This was a true team effort!

While all of this was happening, our Acute Medical clinic was still happening! Our Nurse Practitioner kept seeing patients and all was running as normal. She had to refer a patient to the Emergency Room and also saw a patient with Chicken Pox. 

Needless to say, this was an abnormal day at Trinity Free Clinic. However, through teamwork and the heart we have to serve, we were able to give our patients the best care possible.