JCMC Nursing Annual Report - Mountain States Health Alliance

unable to afford health care. It seemed the biggest
need for the majority of the patients was for dental
care. Patients waited in long, hot lines for hours for
dental services. The tents for the dental services were
full of rows and rows of dental chairs and they were
all filled with patients. As soon as one person got up,
another was waiting to take their place.
“One of my duties as support staff was to escort
patients from one area to another area. Another task
was to take a patient’s place in line while they either
had to have a restroom break or go to a different area
for a different service. I didn’t do any actual nursing
duties, but I worked side by side with students,
secretaries, housewives, nurses and even a hospital
CEO in assisting the patients to obtain the care they
needed.
“What I learned from this experience is that there are
people in our own back yards in dire need of health
care. These people each have their own stories to tell.
Often the look on their faces is a glimpse into their
life struggles.
“Another thing I learned is that the world is still full
of good people. People are willing to give days at a
time out of their schedule to volunteer and in some
way be a help to another person.
“At the end of the day, I was hot, tired and dirty, but
grateful for the experience. The things I learned that
day were things that could not be learned from a
classroom or a book.”
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