Nancy Gavi

Nancy has worked for the Internal Medicine Clinic at AP for 13 years.  She is a role model for customer service and is known for going the extra mile for patients, providers and staff.  Many of our patients know Nancy personally; they ask for her when they call the Practice because she “takes such good care of them” and because they have come to know and respect her for the wonderful care she provides.

            Nancy did a truly “amazing” good deed for one of our patients.  The patient has severe schizophrenia (active delusions), which can make his speech rambling and a little bizarre, as well as making him pretty needy and demanding at times.  He’s not the easiest guy for the staff to work with.

            Lately this patient was complaining of various pains that haven’t been controlled by the medication he was taking.  He comes off at times as if drug seeking; he’s not manipulative or addicted, just very troubled.  On a recent phone call to the Practice it turned out that he had no bed where he was staying, and that he had been sleeping on the floor, sometimes on the couch.  This went a long way toward explaining the various aches he had.

            Nancy saw this explanation in one of the documented phone exchanges the patient had with his provider. After reading what was going on, Nancy called the patient and offered him a bed her family wasn’t using, which he eagerly accepted.  She bought sheets for the bed and she and her husband carried the bed up two flights to a second floor apartment and set the bed up for the patient.  Needless to say, the patient was exceedingly grateful, and now seems to be able to manage his pain with just Ibuprofen.  The only reason the Doctor knew about the bed is because he saw a phone note on which the patient called back to thank Nancy.

All in all this would have been an outstanding good deed for any patient, but it is especially amazing for a difficult patient who tends to inspire avoidance rather than assistance.