Josef Mendez-Lopez
February 2021
Josef
Lopez
,
RN
Spinal Cord Outpatient Clinic
James A. Haley VA Hospital
This elderly Veteran's anxiety and fears were put to ease because of Josef's dedication to serving our Veterans in going above and beyond.
When Josef began his position in telehealth approximately one year ago, he asked me about doing video appointments with our SCI Veterans and I agreed to help him in any way I could. Over time the idea got placed on the back burner, but not extinguished. As we began to hear about COVID-19, I reached out to Josef to help me get set up with VA Video Connect (VVC), so that I could continue to do my wound care assessments. Not only did he help me, but he also immediately offered to do test video calls with me to ensure I would not have problems at the time of the real appointment. His efforts did not stop there, he assisted the entire wound care team across the entire hospital in having VVC up and running.
Since our lives and our Veterans' lives got turned upside down, Josef has helped over 50 staff members/providers be able to reach their Veteran patients all over the state. He did not hesitate to help me in aiding the hospital's home-based primary care ARNP as she was nervous to use it. Every Tuesday, he is part of the ALS clinic team and coordinates the appointments for the entire team via VVC.
Josef took the lead in scheduling a VVC call for an SCI Veteran in Vera Beach. He worked on this call and patiently walked through the process with the Veteran's daughter to ensure a level of comfort, and ease anxiety for the Veteran and his family. He coordinated this call between plastic surgery, the Chief of SCI, the ID doctor, and the wound care nurse. While we did experience some hiccups, Josef was present and taking responsibility, and attempting to correct any issues, calling the family and walking them through everything, as necessary. This elderly Veteran's anxiety and fears were put to ease because of Josef's dedication to serving our Veterans in going above and beyond.
Josef is an example of who we should all strive to be not only during a pandemic but at all times. It would be easy to deduce that if 50 staff members have been able to conduct appointments with at least 10 Veterans each, then that is a minimum of 500 veterans we have been able to have a positive impact on. Josef is an example of who we should all strive to be, not only during a pandemic but at all times. A true hero and advocate.
Since our lives and our Veterans' lives got turned upside down, Josef has helped over 50 staff members/providers be able to reach their Veteran patients all over the state. He did not hesitate to help me in aiding the hospital's home-based primary care ARNP as she was nervous to use it. Every Tuesday, he is part of the ALS clinic team and coordinates the appointments for the entire team via VVC.
Josef took the lead in scheduling a VVC call for an SCI Veteran in Vera Beach. He worked on this call and patiently walked through the process with the Veteran's daughter to ensure a level of comfort, and ease anxiety for the Veteran and his family. He coordinated this call between plastic surgery, the Chief of SCI, the ID doctor, and the wound care nurse. While we did experience some hiccups, Josef was present and taking responsibility, and attempting to correct any issues, calling the family and walking them through everything, as necessary. This elderly Veteran's anxiety and fears were put to ease because of Josef's dedication to serving our Veterans in going above and beyond.
Josef is an example of who we should all strive to be not only during a pandemic but at all times. It would be easy to deduce that if 50 staff members have been able to conduct appointments with at least 10 Veterans each, then that is a minimum of 500 veterans we have been able to have a positive impact on. Josef is an example of who we should all strive to be, not only during a pandemic but at all times. A true hero and advocate.