A Day in the Life of Siloam: Provider's Perspective

An Evening in the Life of Siloam: a Staff Coordinator’s Perspective

Originally published in the Spring 2002 edition of Healing Waters
By Annette Sharpe, RN, CFNP

Annette Sharpe, RN, CFNP

5:10 As I come in to prepare for our 6 pm volunteer-led clinic, my box is overflowing with patient charts and reminder notes from the daytime staff.

5:20 Beth Stonehouse, staff nurse practitioner wants to review the case of a patient with special needs coming in tonight.

5:30 Patients begin arriving for the evening clinic including a young couple with a sick child and no appointment. I glance at the full schedule, but since we have a pediatrician coming in, I ask the family to wait so I can triage the child.

5:40 As Beth finishes updating me on other patients a Vietnamese man comes in and apparently wants to be seen, but we can't communicate well enough to discover what kind of problem he has. I try to tell him to sit and wait until Phuong, our faithful Vietnamese interpreter, arrives. Many of our Vietnamese patients come to the evening and weekend sessions because they know we have Phuong and other interpreters there. He recognizes Phuong's name and sits to wait patiently.

5:45 A couple of patients with appointments have checked in, so I take one back to the exam room so that a patient will be ready to be seen when the volunteer physicians arrive.

5:50 The volunteer team starts arriving including the receptionist, an interpreter, medical students, physicians, a nurse - all familiar faces, friends that I look forward to seeing. Some come on the same day every week, some come once a month or every couple of months; all are a delight to work with. They are the ones that make these evening clinics happen, and I have the privilege to help guide the process as a staff member. They come from various jobs and lifestyles, usually having just finished a full day's work, yet they are smiling and ready to go.

6:02 With a full waiting room, patients checking in, charts being made, and patients waiting in exam rooms, it takes some effort to gather the volunteers for prayer. We all crowd into the small office room, hold hands in a circle and ask God's blessing on the clinic, the patients and the volunteers.

6:10 After directing physicians to the patients assigned to them and assigning medical students to physicians, things feel a little more organized. Thankfully, one of the medical students speaks fluent Spanish so I won't have to be an interpreter while trying to coordinate the evening.

6:15 Finally, I have a chance to ask Phuong to find out what the waiting Vietnamese man needs and I bring the young couple with the sick child to the back. This family from Mexico has been in Nashville only a few months. They have no insurance and heard about Siloam through friends and they come hoping to find care for their child. They don't know where else to go. The schedule is pretty full for tonight, so if it is not an urgent problem it will be better to have the patient come back at another time. It's always a difficult tension, trying not to overload volunteer providers for the two-hour clinic session and yet not turn away patients who have urgent needs. This child has a significant fever and symptoms of an ear infection so I decide to have her see the pediatrician. I explain to the family in Spanish that they might need to wait a while but that we can see the child tonight. They are very grateful and happily take their seats in the waiting room.

6:25 I catch up with Phuong and find that the Vietnamese man only needed a follow-up visit for a mild chronic problem and was willing for us to make an appointment for him at the next evening clinic.

6:45 One of the volunteer physicians for the evening is Dr. David Gregory, Siloam's founder and volunteer medical director. He pulls me aside to tell me that a patient needs a referral to a specialist, something Siloam is often able to arrange through donated services from local physicians and hospitals. Dr. Gregory explains the patient's case carefully to the medical students, sharing skills and knowledge gathered from years of experience. He is a faithful, weekly volunteer and I know that he sees the patient not just as an interesting case but as a whole person with both physical and spiritual needs. It is always encouraging to see him and other physicians quietly and consistently living out their commitment to share the love of Christ with those in need through health care.

7:20 Back at the front desk, I recognize an elderly woman from El Salvador checking in. She first came to our clinic several months ago with large, painful ulcers around her left ankle. She had suffered from these ulcers for 35 years and finally was having relief from pain with the treatment recommendations from Siloam. She flashes a beautiful smile at me and Joicelyn Gregory, our volunteer receptionist for the evening. The woman's daughter-in-law interprets as Joicelyn takes the woman's hand and says how glad she is to see her improvement.

8:05 The physicians are finishing up with their last patients now. The other volunteers are busy with collecting trash, cleaning the clinic area and finishing up paperwork at the front desk. Time for me to make sure the laboratory samples are picked up, the charts reviewed and flagged for follow-up, and any other phone calls made and last minute questions answered. It is beautiful to see these volunteers who give time from their busy schedules and in turn receive blessings as they touch the lives of these patients, each in their own unique way. Our patients tonight (Hispanic, Vietnamese, Egyptian, Lebanese and African-American) represent many cultures. They all come in need and tonight they found a place of caring that reflects the love and compassion of Jesus.