For nine months I have sat near her as she quietly worked on her patient list and yet I didn't know her. I knew of her. I didn't know her heart until I was able to shadow her this week. We started by pulling up the computer and being unable to connect to the hospital's system. This didn't even faze her when she looked at her list of printed patient's and said to me "I have notes already so we will forget the computer and chart later. We have a lot of patients to see." Yolanda McCord smoothly transitioned into putting away her computer and went right into seeing patients without allowing it to affect her willingness to see them, knowing their need were greater.
Knowing her time was limited and she had a number of patients to see she still spent almost 45 minutes with her first patient. Why? Because he was ninety-nine years old and one of the first things he said to her was "I don't have family. They have all died already." She listened intently to his stories about how it was in 'his time' and laughed with him about the stories of him and his buddies in the Army. Yolanda cried with him when he teared up about his twin brother passing away and leaving him to be the last of his family. And she smiled silently when he asked "What? Huh? What did you say honey?" To her questions regarding his health care needs. Selective hearing or another needed service? The gentle hug on her way out confirmed her love for him as she let him know she would make sure he would have someone to talk to once he got home; someone who also cared about him from Mt. Carmel Health Partners.
Next she stood by the bedside of a patient whose accent was hard not to imitate. Weak and frail in bed the patient couldn't focus on her health care needs and why she was in the hospital. Her son had passed only a month ago from kidney failure. Yolanda rubbed the patient's arm and attended to her emotional needs before letting her know we would attend to her medical needs once she was home. The patient was grateful to know someone would be there for her when she was home. The patient was not able to see past the tears in her eyes at the loss of her son to care for her own needs.
Yolanda made her way to a gentleman who was so dehydrated that confusion had set in. He was weak and had a history of strokes and TIA's. Keeping his head up during her visit was a struggle. His only request was for physical therapy to help him walk again. She assured him we would help and even would go and start the process immediately. Leaving his room she went straight to find a social worker and verified that he would have home care and physical therapy for him, then once again reassured him before she left.