Never Ending Files

Wednesday I started my official volunteering at San Jose Clinic! I got there at about 10:30am and noticed right away they were very busy. There were patients waiting to see a doctor inside the building and also waiting outside. When I walked in Sam met me and took me upstairs to meet Neeva (spelling?). She was a very nice lady who showed me where I will be working and also what exactly I was to do. We went back downstairs and she took me into the workroom that is FILLED with patient files. All the files are ordered by number and there were THOUSANDS! She told me that there were students who started working on them in the summer and only got about half way through. I was very happy that I could help because it sure looked like they needed to get these files entered asap! She logged me into the computer and I started entering the patient information into an excel sheet. They have the data organized by patient number, name and birth date. I sat in the lobby with another lady named Patricia who handles the scheduling. Her phone NEVER stopped ringing. Patients were calling every minute making appointments. I noticed a majority of the appointments were for dental and eye care. All patients have a card (paper) with their name on it and can only make an appointment if a card was issued to them. In order to be cared for at this clinic they have to provide pay checks (weekly or biweekly), tax return (if they filed) and proof that they are unemployed (if they have no job or are disabled). There are certain standards and amounts that guarantee them a spot as a patient. Also, while I worked the Houston Fire Department was doing an inspection of the building since it is fairly new. There were many firefighters in the lobby and it was pretty entertaining watching them joke around with some of the doctors and nurses.
Overall, I was really happy to help and I had a fun time doing it. The people that work in the lobby are really fun and very helpful. Patricia told me that the patients actually pay a co-op fee but the it is so small that its not a burden for them.

until next time! :-)