One Big Neighborhood
Date: April 27, 2006

John doesn’t live far from Floyd Medical Center, so it was only natural that he would choose the Floyd Outpatient Surgery Center when his doctor told him he needed to have some lesions removed from his face.

On the day of his appointment, John walked through the doors right on time and ready to go. He came alone, but that’s not all that unusual, especially for someone scheduled for a relatively minor outpatient procedure.

He sailed through the surgery and recovered quickly. Within a few hours, it was time to go home. John pulled on his clothes and shoes, stuffed his personal items back into his pockets and told the nurses he was ready.

That was when Tracy Farmer, RN, Clinical Manager of Floyd Outpatient Surgery Center, and some members of her staff, Beverly Floyd, Pam Horton, Ann McGill and Vickie Patterson, learned John had walked to the Center, that he didn’t have a car, didn’t have family and didn’t have anyone to drive him home. Now, John didn’t see that as a problem; he walks everywhere he goes, but Tracy and her staff were uncomfortable with sending John on his way.

To make sure John was fully recovered from his surgery, they brought John food and something to drink and kept him at the center until they were sure he was not dizzy, was fully functional and able to return home alone.

“We didn’t want him to be dizzy or lightheaded when he got home,” Tracy said.

Recognizing that John might have other needs, Tracy and her staff asked John if he was prepared to get his post-surgery prescription filled. John, a Medicare patient, wasn’t sure whether he had Medicare prescription coverage and didn’t have the money to pay for the medicine himself. So, Tracy and her staff verified that he did have prescription coverage, had John’s physician’s office to call in the prescription to his pharmacy, worked with the pharmacy to have it ready at the drive-through location, and then took up money among themselves to pay for John’s medicine.

But they didn’t stop there. The Outpatient Surgery Center staff enlisted Floyd’s Security Department to drive John first to his pharmacy to pick up his prescription and then home.

“We would have done it ourselves,” Tracy said, “but there are actually rules and regulations that prevent nurses from taking patients home. We don’t mind doing whatever our patients need.

“We have a lot of people in need and Floyd is good about taking care of those people. That is what we do best. I find that very endearing here. You feel you are part of a bigger family or community. This is our community. Floyd is like one big neighborhood and we are just helping out our neighbors.”

<<back to Outstanding Story Archives