Thursday

I thought that the only children’s hospital in Western North Carolina has compared to previous experiences in health care in many different aspects. For instance, I feel that at Methodist Hospital, the children are constantly sent off their floor for lab, tests and procedures. I thought that it was amazing to see that Mission NICU their nurses draw their own labs, run ABG’s, do circumcisions, laser eye surgery and have portable X-Ray machines come to the children. One huge thing that stands out about this feature is the fact that they are reducing exposure to germs, decreasing risk for a child abduction and make it a lot easier on the infant and the nurses by bringing everything to them, rather than the other way around. Something great that I noticed in the NICU was having the elevator that only staff could use that dropped down to the emergency room and also to the labor and delivery floor. 

There are many different ways that the children and their families adapt to the changes that occur with hospitalization. These changes may affect their health and family integrity as a whole. Unfortunately, some family members may likely suffer with changes in eating, sleeping, activities, family roles and their responsibilities, such as work and taking care of their other children. I have realized throughout the day that the Mission organizations apply family – centered care in many different aspects throughout their hospital. For example, in the pediatric unit there were two different play rooms that were set up for the children. Also, it was mentioned that the X box that was in the play room was mainly used by parents to occupy their time during their long or even short stays. It was nice to see that on the pediatric unit there was a kitchen area set up, along with food supplies and drinks to help the family and visitors to make it a little easier on themselves. 

When comparing the environment in Asheville, NC versus the environment to Cherokee, NC I have noticed a very large difference. However, I thought that both hospitals had their own ways of running things and it was much more focused on the patients and quality of care. I did get the vibe that the Cherokee environment is more focused on the cultural aspect of their tribe versus Mission where it was more focused on the overall care of all sorts of cultures.

One thing that stood out to me the most was the healthy, and positive communication at the Children’s outpatient clinic. It was so uplifting to see the community come together and have such a positive place for children and their families that was all donated. It was a beautiful facility and it was set up in a way that makes complete sense. It really pulled on the heart strings when looking at all of the hand prints on the wall in the Reuter’s clinic for children suffering from abuse. I have always been interested in learning more about the communication that the SANE nurse use toward these patients. There are so many different ways that these children use to cope with overcoming the pain of childhood abuse and neglect. It is great to see that this office allows to get the medical assessment, the interviews and also the therapy out of the way, all in one place.