The Last Day with the Charts.

April 23, 2010

Sadly, the end has come. Although we made much progress with the charts, there is still so much work to be done. The question now lies with whom will complete this task and when this task will be completed. After a months work, we barely made it to the last names beginning with J. I can only imagine the work we have left to those that bear the task of the patient charts.

Throughout my time at HHH, there was much to learn. Although there was minimal interaction with patients, a foundation was set on how to correctly manage and maintain a clinic or hospital setting. This includes organization of donations, equipment, patient charts and even respect among the staff.

This was an opportunuity that I hope will not end. I still have many years here in Houston and a life long journey ahead of me in the medical career. So, with this said, my journey does not end here. This experience was another brick of training and preparation to the pathway of my life career.


"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
- Joseph Campbell


So long for now,

- Cristina.

Never Ending Charts.

April 16, 2010

It just seems that the more time we spend on these patient charts, the more work we have. More and more new patients come in every day so the charts continue to accumulate, making our job seem never ending. Although progress can be seen, it doesn't seem like we're progressing at a very fast rate.


Until next time,

Cristina.

Easter Break.

April 2, 2010

Due to Easter Holidays, HHH was closed during the last few days of the week. I would have loved to volunteer those days in the spirit of Easter, but I spent the holidays with my family instead.

I do look forward to starting up again with those patient charts this week. Hopefully this week we'll be able to get more of the charts done before the planned supervisor visit.


Until next time,

Cristina.

More Patient Charts.

March 26, 2010

Another day spent with the charts. This day was quite exciting because out of the 6 full sided cabinets full of patient charts, we finally have completed one side. This has taken more work than we all expected but it feels good to know that we are making progress - slowly but surely.

Not much more can be said about the infamous patient charts, but I know our work is paying off!

Oh wait! Of course - how could I have forgotten something so special. AJ and I were fortunate enough to arrive earlier than usual and bump into Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets!! He had been dedicating some time to help at the clinic and prepare "goodie bags" for the homeless, including toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, a razor and deodorant. There's nothing better than to see players of the NBA giving back to the community.


"Progress is the activity of today and the assurance of tomorrow."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson.


Until next time,


Cristina.

Front Desk Receptionist.

March 11, 2010

So I knew with Spring Break coming around, I wouldn't be able to make it the Friday with everyone else. I planned to go in the Thursday before, and fortunately I was able to see the clinic from a patient perspective. Usually when working at the clinic, we are arriving soon after the Clinic takes their last patients, so we do not get much interaction, if any at all, with the patients. Today, I was able to get a bit of patient interaction.

The usual volunteer that works at the front desk was not able to come in, so I was able to sit with a Medical Assistent who offered to take over until another volunteer arrived. To my luck, she was very knowledgeable of the clinic and many of the tasks and procedures that occur daily within the clinic. She had been working at HHH for 7 years now, and wakes up every morning thrilled to give her time to those who are less fortunate.

Although I was sitting there watching her make those phone calls to the doctors and nurses to schedule these patients or walk-ins, I got a glimpse of how happy and thrilled many of these people are to see one another and being able to sit down and have a conversation. It's amazing how many things we take for granted, while many of the people who step foot in the clinic are grateful to receive a simple smile and toothbrush to get them through the day. This message brings back many reassuring thoughts not to complicate your life, but to live with simplicity and happiness.


"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
- Leo F. Buscaglia


Until next time,


Cristina

More Patient Charts.

March 8, 2010

Another day of Patient Charts. This time was quite a bit different from last week, in a more positive way. Although, the task of organizing charts is not exactly at the top of the list for fun things to do, it ended up being quite a fun experience because all four of the volunteers were able to work on this task together.

All four of us come to school together and have been in the same classes since we started as freshmen, but we don't always spend time together outside of class. It's amazing the uniqueness and life stories everyone has to tell and similar experiences we all have lived. I had a great time talking and enjoying my classmates stories, while organizing at the same time. As we've heard the phrase sometime, 'you can have fun while at work.'

I suppose we will be looking at the patient charts for weeks to come because there is still much more to be done... but that does not seem to phase me because I know I will be in good company.


"Light is the task where many share the toil."
- Homer


Until next time,

- Cristina.

Patient Charts.

Feb. 27, 2010

Today was a day of organizing patient charts. All the charts within the cabinets were vey disorganized and thrown around out of order. It was hard, almost impossible, to find a patient chart when the patient came into the Clinic. Because we have a new medical clinic directer, the desire to update the clinic with the latest form of filing and storage was the immediate task at hand. The task for patient charts is not a one day task, but will take up to several weeks to complete. It includes removing all the charts, start with the beginning of the alphabet. There are three options for what one can do with the charts: 1) if it's dated 2007 or earlier, the charts get moved to a box that will be alphabetized and sent off to permanent storage. 2) if there is no date found on the chart - we never realized how hard it was for someone to date their paper - the chart is moved to a second box so the patient can be looked up on the electronic record for the last visit date. 3) if there is a date found from 2008 and on, then the charts are given a sticker indicating the year of first visit and their names are rewritten in all caps, then put back onto the cabinet, in alphabetical order of course. Doesn't seem like a very difficult task. Though it's not a difficult process, it's very time consuming. The two hours spent at the clinic this past Friday was not even enough to get us through the B's. There are so many patients that come into the clinic that they have accumulated numerous amounts of patient charts. It was great to see the transformation of charts, even though it was only the A's and half of the B's. It's amazing what organization and cleanliness does to an office space.

I suppose we'll be spending quite a bit of time on these charts for the following weeks, but maybe one day, she'll surprise us with another task, such as storage cleaning, or case management filing. But, until then, it looks as though these charts need quite a bit of work. The reward of knowing the doctors will have easier access to their patient charts is a great accomplishment in itself.


"People often resist change for reasons that make good sense to them, even it those reasons don't correspond to organizational goals. So it is crucial to recognize, reward, and celebrate accomplishments."
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter.


Until next time,


- Cristina.

Storage Closet.

Feb. 21, 2010

Arriving at Healthcare for the Homeless, we were greeted with the task of the storage closet. The storage closet holds all the donations received from the community, other nearby clinics and hospitals, businesses, and any other kind person in Houston. What you do not know about the storage closet, is that everything ranging from dental and basic hygiene products to socks and panties, even baby diapers, were tossed into any avaliable open space in the closet. This left us with an unorganized pile of donations in a space where one could not even manuver around. At first, we were all embracing the upcoming challange and working ideas in our head as to how we would go about organizing the storage closet and putting together kits for the homeless. With all the various dontations, we were able to put together several kits which included the daily basic hygiene products. Toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, deodorant, bandaids, shampoo or body wash, socks, a face cloth, kleenex and hand wipes made up the essentials for one kit. There are many roaming the streets nearby the clinic that go for days without brushing their teeth, or washing their hair. These simple donations, that we seem to have access to and in excessive amounts, are "gold" to others that go days, weeks, even months without touching. It was tough to be faced with that reality, but at the same time, I was grateful that I could be apart of such a group that worked to put these kits together, making them more accessible to the homeless.

We formed a sort of "elf line" when putting together the kits. AJ started off the bags by adding socks and a wash cloth. She passed the bag off to Izzy who added kleenex, hand wipes, and bandaids. Elizabeth got the bag next and added shampoo or body wash and deodorant. I was at the end of the line adding soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush. We worked at this for an hour until the donations ran out. Together, we were able to fill up 5 big boxes full of completed kits ready to be handed out to those in need. Just that task alone, could have easily taken one person up to 5 hours to complete. At times you may underestimate the capabilities possible when you work together. Fortunately, I'm glad I got to be part of such a good team that communicated, got the task done and still had fun all at the same time.


After the kits were completed, we took out 3 huge boxes full of donations. We had no idea what was thrown into these boxes, so it was a matter of taking everything out and organizing them according to their repective labels or products. Soaps, shampoos, lip products, bath products, shower caps, sunscreen, anything else - you name it - was in those boxes. Some of these had leaked open, others had been smooshed down from being at the bottom of the box. Sadly, not all the donations were able to be used because of their worn out condition. But for the ones that were still usable, we were able to form about 4 groups of major products to be handed out. Shampoos and body washes, conditioners, toothpastes, and soaps were found in endless amounts and organized into different boxes. After about an hour at that, the task was completed.

Now it was time to put everything back into the closet. The difference this time was that we were able to walk into the closet and everything was placed back in an organized fashion. What an amazing conversion! You wouldn't have realized how big the closet really was, until you were able to see all the walls and the floor. Cherie was absolutely shocked with the results, just as much if not more than we all were.


We knew we had made a difference. Not just for the clinic, but for every patient or person that walks through the Clinic's front doors.


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that every has."
- Margaret Mead.


Until next time.


- Cristina.

Alphabetical Test.

Feb. 13, 2010

So the day finally arrived to start at the clinic. Turns out the clinic is closed to patients on Fridays, so these next couple weeks will be dedicated to the organization and maintence of the clinic. The clinic just recently hired a new staff manager. She's a very nice lady with many goals for the clinic and is determined to make it her own - that gives us plenty of work to start off with.

We started yesterday with the storage files. There were hundreds of old Case Management Patient Charts that had been sent over from the Catherdral location. These charts needed to be alphabetically arranged and reboxed in order to send off to long term storage. That gave us quite a task. I didn't realize how rusty my alphabetical skills were until we started the process. Sorting through these boxes of dizorganized charts was a little hectic, but fortnately there were three of us working that day. Once a system was discussed between the three of us, things kicked off and wey started the organizing process. We had charts dated back from 2002 and had names from A-Z. You wouldn't think that organizing and boxing up these charts would make a difference, but after two long hours of looking at letters and charts we had finally completed the task. 7 boxes total full of charts! Mission Accomplished! You wouldn't believe the difference 7 new cleanly organized boxes made in a small storage closet in comparison to the scattered, ripped boxes thrown into the closet before hand.

It was a great feeling once we had completed the task. Knowing that the simple task of organizing the charts that was put off for months was finally completed in a matter of hours. The clinic is not only is able to send those boxes off, but they now have more storage space for new charts and donations that continue to arrive.


"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
-Henry Ford


Until next time,


-Cristina.

Pre-Clinic Complications.

Feb. 2, 2010.

So I have never blogged before, much less have been interested in blogging. I enjoy writing my experiences in journals so I can go back and reflect upon my entries, so this seems to be more or less the equivalent, just without a pen and paper.

I thought starting a blog would be a little bit more tough than the actual process was. I was very pleased with how simple the steps were to creating a blog. Rather than pulling at my hair when working with the computer, I found the experience quite steady for a change. On the other hand, I've struggled in finding a clinic to volunteer at. After several emails and phone calls to the first clinic, and no response, I started losing a bit of hope. I had anticipated starting this project this week and getting into the clinic and meeting new people - but I haven't had much luck. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear from the first clinic, so I contacted a second clinic. Again, not to my surprise, I was immediately greeted by the answering machine. I'm starting to see my weeks slim down to a minimum and I still have yet to hear any answer - that makes me a bit nervous when it comes down to actually starting the project.

All I can do now is wait. But how long will it be until I hear an answer? Or how soon will I need to contact another clinic? I see this project as a great learning experience and I was truly looking forward to reaching out and helping the community. I am still hopeful that I will hear an answer soon, but I'm not very satisfied with the level of communication between the clinics and interested volunteers or community members. Am I the only one having this much trouble, or is there a step in the process that I am skipping out on?

Well this leaves me at a blank until I hear a response.


Still Hopeful. Until next time.


- Cristina.