Page 28 - St. John's Healthcare Foundation_Annual Report 2016

YOU ARE making

A DIFFERENCE

e Joe’s Adventure I could help by fully utilizing my life experience as a business executive.
Fifteen years ago my wife and the love of Our emphasis was the patient. In particular how to bring comfort to
my life, Roberta, was diagnosed with an patients in the emergency room.
autoimmune disease. Emergency room visits In July, I began volunteering in the Emergency Department. My job was
became regular events, often followed by to relieve patient anxiety and stress through communication. Having
in-hospital stays as she required multiple spent more than forty years in marketing and sales in the aerospace
medical procedures for conditions that industry, I had no trouble connecting with patients. The feedback was
were at times life threatening. St. John’s positive as patients’ outlook improved and pressure on medical staff was
Pleasant Valley Hospital became a familiar reduced. This prompted the official launch of the Emergency Patient
place where my wife received outstanding Ambassador Program.
medical care in conjunction with
thoughtful attention, which gave us the confidence that people who cared EPA - EMERGENCY PATIENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
for us, also cared about us as persons.
As any frequent flier can attest, familiarity leads to opportunities for • Communicate with patients. At times this could be just talking with
deeper observation of an organization and its services, which in my case someone who is alone, or explaining how long lab test results can take.
led to action. On multiple occasions I toured the hospital with various
department administrators and spent shifts in the emergency room • Support patients with non-medical needs, such as calling a family
alongside medical staff. As I experienced the hospital from a different member or arranging for transportation.
perspective, the realization dawned on me that perhaps I could help make
my hospital, which was already great, even better. And so my adventure • Show compassion and concern for patients and their families.
began. . .
After my stint in the emergency room as an observer, I met with
Dr. Jeffery Davies, then the Chair of Emergency Medicine, to discuss how

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