Co-op at: Leamington District Memorial Hospital

1. Co-op at: Leamington District Memorial Hospital By: Andria Blackburn

2. LDMH Mission Statement: “LDMH is dedicated to improving the health status of the people we serve. With compassion and in partnership with others we will strive to provide quality, continuity of service and excellence in health care.” Vision: “We will be a respected leader in an integrated health system.” http://www.leamingtonhospital.com/general/default.asp

3. History of LDMH • “The Leamington District Memorial Hospital was completed on April 1, 1950. The total cost for the hospital was $482,968. The Rotary Hopewell Hospital was able to close and donate its equipment and supplies to the new facility. The Board was able to raise enough money to build the hospital and open its doors free of debt.” • “Today, the hospital has a very different face than it did 50 years ago. Perhaps its age shows on the outside, but its soul is as vibrant as ever.” http://www.leamingtonhospital.com/general/default.asp

4. Purpose of my Co-op Placement • To explore careers at a workplace that meet your interests • To get “hands on” experience with exploring your possible careers • To learn from professionals who have been educated and have experience in their career • To provide opportunities to become interested in other areas of the field

5. Purpose & Overall Function of the Business • To provide health care to the community • To provide patients with high quality care • To provide patients with healthy living education • To help patients recover to good health and provide them with resources and education to remain healthy • To recognize the proper diagnosis and treatment process for each patient • To follow LDMH’s values of “Accountability, Service, Teamwork, Respect and Innovation” (http://209.202.75.43/aboutus/documents/CorporateValues.pdf)

6. LDMH Procedures • At LDMH it is required that all patients and staff when entering the hospital sanitize their hands. Also when staff move from patient to patient it is a procedure that they sanitize their hands before going to the next patient. There are sanitization containers all over the hospital for staff, patient, and visitors convenience. • Another procedure at LDMH is that all staff and volunteers must sign a confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality agreement states that you will not tell anyone about the people you see at the hospital, patient information you receive, confidential papers you work with and so forth. This procedure is to respect patient and staff’s privacy. • Throughout the hospital there are “Contact Precautions” signs. This procedure is used so that people at LDMH know to follow the certain safety precautions before entering the patient’s room.

7. Administration and Volunteer office Working in the mail room on the computer. Collected comment papers left in comment boxes from patients. They are found throughout the hospital. Typed up the comments onto the computer. For this duty I was working with the staff from Administration. Working in the mail room. Making many photocopies of papers that I put into LDMH’s orientation binders. For this duty I was working with my supervisor.

8. Emergency Department Taking off bed sheets and sanitizing bed once a patient has left. Restocking linen and glove compartments in Emergency rooms. Escorting patients to different departments, such as X-ray. Restocking and folding clean linen for the linen cart.

9. INR Clinic • When the INR Clinic first opens in the morning it is my duty to get the clinic ready for the day. In this picture I am getting the Vital Signs monitor and putting it in each room at the clinic. • It is my duty to greet the patients and get the patients files ready for the nurses. In order for the files to be ready, they must have the patient’s stickers on the file and be in the correct order based on the patients arrival. Then once the patients have seen the nurse, I put their blood work sheet onto their file to be seen by the nurse and doctor.

10. Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound Departments • In the Nuclear Medicine Department I shadowed two technicians who have been working in their career for many years. They are highly trained and intelligent people. When shadowing them, my duties were to assist the staff when required. • In the Ultrasound Department I shadowed the technicians. I watched a number of patients have ultrasounds and even got to see an ultrasound of a baby. My duties in this department were to empty the linen bags, restock linen in the change rooms, and to make up the beds for patients. Also to assist the staff when required.

11. Operating Room/Recovery Room • When patients come out of surgery they go back into the same room , except now you treat them as a recovery patient. I offer them something to eat and drink, and I bring in their family members who have been waiting for them. • Organizing where patients will go when they come into the department. I am highlighting a patients name, which signifies that I have brought them in and have assigned them a bed. • When patients first come into the OR they need to get changed and lay down on the bed. I explain to them what they need to change into to, provide them with a warm blanket, and help to answer any of their questions. • This sign indicates my duty to bring patients from the waiting area to the OR and get them ready for the nurses.

12. Porter Many volunteers porter fresh water, mail and flowers to patients on the second floor of the hospital. The steps that you use to porter water are: fill pitchers with a couple scoops of ice, fill the same pitchers with cold water, fill about 6 pitchers with just cold water, put the lids on all the pitchers, collect all the dirty pitchers from patients rooms, deliver fresh water to patients. While you are delivering fresh water to patients it is nice to talk with the patients. The patients really enjoy the company and like having someone to talk to. After I am done the water, I fill the glove compartments and make bath bags for the nurses. Putting ice into the water pitchers. Bringing the clean water pitchers to patients.

13. Shadow Dr. Park When I worked at LDMH I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Park in the Emergency department on Wednesdays. This was a great opportunity and I really enjoyed it. I was allowed to go into the patients room with the doctor while she was giving the patient an assessment. She always included me and explained to me everything she was doing. She explained to me what the patient came in for, what she was going to look for, and what she would do for the treatment of the patient.

14. X-Ray It is my duty to put the x-ray films back into their proper location. Sometimes the technicians will let you put the x-ray film into the computer. In this picture I am watching a patient have their x-ray behind the lead sheet for protection. This is one of the x-ray machines at the hospital.

15. How Science is applied/practiced at LDMH Co-op placement? • When working at my Co-op, you are constantly learning. Since you are surrounded by professionals who know so much about health care, you are always learning new things about science. • The staff at LDMH will always take time to explain what they are doing and answer any questions you have. • While working at LDMH, the main school subjects that I learned about were Biology and Chemistry. • I learned some Biology at my co-op placement when learning about the human body, through talking with nurses, doctors, technicians etc. • I learned some Chemistry at my co-op placement when learning about medications, through talking with nurses and doctors.