Over the years, I have witnessed a number of situations at the infusion clinic where I go regularly that add to my comfort and satisfaction with the quality of their care. Not just the medical care, but the patient care that I have seen and experienced first-hand.
As I've mentioned, the treatment areas that each patient uses have a fairly high degree of privacy (there's really nothing much to keep a secret). But there is also a certain amount of the basic interactions between patients and caregivers that "bleeds" over from cubicle to cubicle. No HIPAA Privacy/Security regulations are ever compromised - and a curtain can be drawn or a private infusion room can be requested for anyone who is uncomfortable about sharing their situation. Still, I have innocently witnessed scenarios where patient/family support by the staff has been exceptionally respectful and flexible. For examples:
- I remember one time when multiple people on the staff (medical and administrative) spent the good part of the morning seeking to verify the mysterious appointment time of a patient who arrived for their maiden-voyage infusion session - only to have the result be that the patient themselves had mistakenly come on the wrong day.
- On another occasion, great lengths were employed to communicate with an ESL patient. Much of the core info was being understood back and forth, but a particular intake question about back pain was preventing the session from continuing. Not wishing to ignore the issue, the team persisted in their efforts to understand if the discomfort was a pre-existing condition or a greater manifestation of the person's disease or treatment regimen. It finally turned out to be nothing (a language misunderstanding), but no aspect of the patient's health is insignificant or overlooked.
- And even I have been the beneficiary of the patience and graciousness of the people who are responsible for keeping the cancer-killing machine running smoothly and humanely. One time, I had a particularly busy Saturday that month and just needed to get in early and get done efficiently. There are certain things about the infusion process that just can't be rushed, but the team accommodated my showing up 2-hours earlier than my scheduled appointment time, and expeditiously managed my needs without any issues or impedance.
As a patient with cancer, I don't often think of myself as a customer as well. But in fact, I do have the choice of which infusion clinic I can go to on a regular basis for my monthly treatments. Don't get me wrong, I'm not shopping around, nor am I dissatisfied in any way with the quality of care that I am receiving at CINJ. If I were to rate the facility on compassion alone - I would give it 5 Stars!
