Hospitals

Last week was National Nurses Week.  Our hospital is celebrating it this week to coincide with:

Happy National Hospital Week.  When you think of a hospital, automatically Doctors and Nurses come into mind.  They are a vital part of the idea of  "Hospital".  I work with a great group of both...especially the nurses!  Nurses like my BFF Donna:

The Eye Queen..not because of her beautiful eyes, but because she's the ophthalmology clinician.

Nicki who's fairly new to our group...if you haven't worked here for 30yrs that makes you the newbie!

Here' a motley crew! Melissa in front (who's 8mo. preggo!) The tall drink of water is Margaret and next to her is Carla (a fellow surgical technologist...one of 3 who work here.)

Kim..surgical tech #2...then me who makes 3! (I should have taken a selfie I guess!)

This is Kris...she's not a nurse or a surgical tech. I'm really not sure what her official title is but I'll tell you this..she's there at 6am daily and runs here tail off transporting patients, getting the instrument sets up and ready for our cases.  She cleans, she stands tall (6ft!) on the operating table many days to wipe blood off the ceiling,  she helps set the rooms up for surgeries,  she helps with patient care where needed, and I could go on and on...I'm sure she can leap tall buildings with a single bound!  But hospitals are made up of many other players who must know their parts or else confusion and mistakes can happen.  From the moment a patient walks into our facility they meet and greet many who are instrumental in making their outcome positive and healthy.  I want to tell you about a few.

This is Donna, our housekeeper. But if you think all she does is clean, you would be mistaken big time.  She also comes in the OR and will pitch in to help move a patient even though she could say: "That's not my job".   But we're a team and we are very grateful for her skills and I'll tell you that she keeps our area shining and spotless. We really miss her when she's not here.  Thanks Donna!

This gal is Marita. She works in the cafeteria.."Sam's Café".  I've promised her all year I would feature her in my blog.  National Hospital Week was a good time to do that.  She always amazes me because she will remember people's names, department, what they normally eat for breakfast without even looking at their plate, and if they have a badge number to charge their food, she remembers that too!  I have a hard time remembering my pin numbers or passwords!  She has a smile and a great sense of humor.  Thanks for all you do and I know you know what's in my takeout container!

The other players are here discussing the menus I'm sure!  This week they had special freebies for staff.

Breakfast treats on Monday that we had no trouble grabbing.  Free desserts on Tuesday.  Yesterday they made a special picnic cookout for everyone that was also free! Steak and chicken and all kinds of greatness.  We couldn't survive our days without these special folks that you probably never see if you're in the hospital. I know hospital food can have a bad rap, but our little Samaritan Hospital has really good food made with love! The rest of this week had special events for staff. Things like raffles for free gifts and even another food extravaganza put on my the head of the departments.

I guess food is a really important thing around here! Thanks guys!  If you have to be in a hospital this week, stop and say hi and thanks to all who make it a place to get well. It can be scary and if it's huge it can be also impersonal...but I work in a small community hospital that gives great service,  good outcomes, and kind and caring attitudes to those we serve each day.  There should not be anyone who is more important than anyone else in a hospital...except for the patients who trust us to care for them and their families.  I hope we can always be worthy of that trust.

Happy Nurses Week and National Hospital Week!