This month’s Service Hero- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
This month’s Service Hero- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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May 30, 2000
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In This Issue:
BWH in the Digital Age
This month’s Service Hero
Medical Resident Research
What do the different Emergency Codes mean?
Pike Notes
BWH’s 20th Annual Service Awards Ceremony
Dennis Thomson Compassionate Care Lecture
StreetBeat 2000
When the family member of a BWH patient realized that he had lost his wallet and credit cards and was from out of state, he became extremely distraught. A flurry of calls had to be placed to the credit card companies immediately. When an elderly patient from Venezuela came to BWH, he was told that in order to return to his country, he would have to have his bill notarized. Unfortunately, he was leaving the next day, and it would be impossible for him to get to the billing offices in Charleston. The connection between these situations—and many others that the Office for Patient and Family Relations handles every day—is that Robin Ingersoll, this month’s Service Hero, stepped in and saved the day. She also assisted the patient’s family member by staying late to place calls to the credit card companies. She offered to go to the billing office for the Venezuelan patient, who was so grateful that he gave her a hug and a kiss. Every day, she assists both callers and walk-in visitors by taking complaints, triaging the calls for lost belongings, placing service requests, and assisting people who need parking, to name just a few of her duties. And every day, she makes a shining difference in a patient or family member’s life. “Robin just takes on whatever comes up, and she goes to the (n-th) degree to help solve people’s problems,” says Janet Korman-Parra, Robin’s co-worker. “She’s willing to do whatever she can to rectify a situation. “She’s just a very caring and giving person,” adds Korman-Parra. Ingersoll, who has worked at BWH for two and a half years, says that she tries to be understanding and helpful to patients and their families in any way she can. “I think people don’t realize, at any level, that every single interaction you have with someone—no matter how insignificant you think it is—really has an impact, good or bad. It really makes a difference, just to give someone five minutes of your time. I think I always try to put myself in someone else’s place and say, ‘How would I feel if I were this patient?’ I think that’s the difference—just trying to say, ‘How would I want someone to treat me?’” She mentions that while giving directions to a lost patient or visitor, she will sometimes stop trying to direct them and will instead walk them to their destination herself. “You can just tell that they feel relieved that they don’t have to worry about how to follow the directions,” she smiles. “Going the extra mile for someone in need is the perfect example of a Service Hero, and no one deserves it more than Robin,” says Tracy Johnston, the director of Patient and Family Relations. “She is, and always has been, extremely helpful and responsive with every patient with whom she comes into contact. She is a role model within our department as well as for the hospital in regard to her outstanding service interactions. ”