The other day a woman, her husband, and daughter were walking out of the cardiology clinic. Kim was at the nephrology desk and said hello to them as she recognized them, him being a patient of the department. As they chatted, they told Kim that the wife was having surgery the next day. Kim asked if he would make his dialysis appointment then. They said he would have to miss it due to his wife's surgery. She asked them if they had a few minutes to wait and if she could try to arrange a different day for his dialysis. They were in agreement. Kim immediately called his dialysis unit to see if they could accommodate him on Saturday. They could not. Instead of giving up, she called Onalaska to see if they could. They were able to. She arranged the time with the family and dialysis in Onalaska for him to get it, so he could still be with his wife, yet not miss this important appointment.
As I watched this interaction, it occurred to me that this was an automatic for Kim, it is who she is. She takes time to meet every need of every patient. She listens to them and adjusts her care to suit the patients. She focuses on what the patients are saying and going through, to best meet their needs and protect their health. She treats the whole patient and the family. This is just one example, but Kim does this every day with every patient.