A Time to Help
Date: July 27, 2009

The call to the pharmacy came as many others do. An elderly patient had a new prescription and was having a little trouble. She needed guidance and reassurance, and she called the Floyd Medical Center pharmacy for help.

Pharmacist Kimberly Gray answered the phone, opening the door to an opportunity to demonstrate the kind of care that has become the standard of compassion at Floyd.

Miss Agnes had been a Floyd patient, and she had been prescribed Digoxin, which can affect the patient’s pulse rate. Patients who receive this drug are told not to take it if their pulse is low, and Agnes was having trouble checking her pulse.

Kimberly talked extensively with Miss Agnes on the phone, carefully describing how to find and count her heart rate, but Miss Agnes wasn’t having much success. Sensing her uneasiness, Kimberly offered to stop by Agnes’ house for a personal lesson in pulse-taking on her way into work the next day.

“Kim offered not only her gentle, patient guidance and instruction, but after realizing that she didn't understand, she offered her time. I sat listening to her conversation amazed at her unselfishness,” said Kimberly’s co-worker, Susie Garrett.

Just as she promised, the next morning Kimberly went to Agnes’ house and quickly discovered one of Miss Agnes’ key issues–she didn’t have a watch or clock with a second hand. Now, Kimberly could have told Agnes to get herself a proper timepiece and call her when she was ready, but she didn’t do that.

Kimberly left Agnes, drove to the store and purchased a watch with a second hand, returned and patiently worked with Agnes until she could comfortably take her own pulse. But, she didn’t stop there.

When, Kimberly learned that a home health agency was supposed to come to Miss Agnes’ house to help her with her medical needs, she followed up with the agency, making sure to alert them to Agnes’ concerns. She then followed up the next day, finding that Agnes is now confidently checking her pulse with the skills–and the time piece–Kimberly provided her.

Susie said Kimberly’s actions affected more than just Miss Agnes:

“Kim has not only impacted the sweet lady who was instructed to check her pulse every morning but didn't know how, but also impacted her co-workers with such a caring attitude that extends beyond the walls of the hospital into the community. Wow! I feel blessed to work with someone with such integrity and kindness.”

<<back to Outstanding Story Archives