After a windstorm knocked out power across northern Utah earlier this month, our caregivers banded together in various ways to support each other and be heroes for our patients.
A team at Taylorsville Clinic coordinated moving hundreds of vaccines during the power outage. Ashley McDonagh, practice director, says, “When the outage began at 11:30 a.m., all the vaccines were initially consolidated into our two big refrigerators powered by generators, but hours later when the power was still out, everything had to be moved elsewhere.”
“We had tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of medications, including flu vaccinations, and every item has to be precisely temperature monitored,” she says.
Ashley, along with Laurie Huber, practice supervisor, and Micah Wylie, RN coordinator, worked together to move the vaccines to Holladay Clinic 10 miles away. Ashley says, “We all went home, grabbed six coolers between us, and met back at the clinic at 5 p.m.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Ortega, clinical practice manager at Holladay Clinic, helped make room in their fridge, and Alice Hooser, a medical assistant, labeled each vaccine by department and organized them so there was a good system to load and unload.
“Once we finished storing them at Holladay Clinic, we received notifications that the fridge at Taylorsville was powered up again,” says Ashley.
Tanja Davis, a patient service rep at Taylorsville Clinic, went to check on the power and sure enough, it was back on.
“We all turned around, packed everything back up, and finished loading into our fridge by 9:30 p.m.,” says Ashley. “This really took an army. Everyone pitched in and went the extra mile. It was quite the undertaking and I definitely couldn’t have done it alone.”
“We had tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of medications, including flu vaccinations, and every item has to be precisely temperature monitored,” she says.
Ashley, along with Laurie Huber, practice supervisor, and Micah Wylie, RN coordinator, worked together to move the vaccines to Holladay Clinic 10 miles away. Ashley says, “We all went home, grabbed six coolers between us, and met back at the clinic at 5 p.m.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Ortega, clinical practice manager at Holladay Clinic, helped make room in their fridge, and Alice Hooser, a medical assistant, labeled each vaccine by department and organized them so there was a good system to load and unload.
“Once we finished storing them at Holladay Clinic, we received notifications that the fridge at Taylorsville was powered up again,” says Ashley.
Tanja Davis, a patient service rep at Taylorsville Clinic, went to check on the power and sure enough, it was back on.
“We all turned around, packed everything back up, and finished loading into our fridge by 9:30 p.m.,” says Ashley. “This really took an army. Everyone pitched in and went the extra mile. It was quite the undertaking and I definitely couldn’t have done it alone.”
Kaitlin Young, an MRI tech at Layton Hospital
Kaitlin Young, an MRI tech at Layton Hospital, received a call from Tanner Clinic asking if they could send a patient to Layton for a scan because their equipment was down due to the power outage. Tanner Clinic isn’t an Intermountain facility, but the Layton Hospital imaging team was more than willing to help.
“We didn’t have any open slots, but I was able to squeeze the patient in within the hour,” says Kaitlin.
Kaitlin says her coworker Becky Ord, also an MRI tech, was great about being flexible and adding the patient to their busy schedule that day. “We all really care about taking good care of our patients and working together, especially in an emergent situation,” Kaitlin says.
“Kaitlin had Tanner Clinic send the patient right over, and she was scanned immediately at our facility,” says Lindsay Cutler, imaging manager. “Both the patient and the folks at Tanner were extremely grateful for the quick accommodation. The patient said she was thankful that two differing hospital and medical groups worked together, rather than just be competitors.”
“We didn’t have any open slots, but I was able to squeeze the patient in within the hour,” says Kaitlin.
Kaitlin says her coworker Becky Ord, also an MRI tech, was great about being flexible and adding the patient to their busy schedule that day. “We all really care about taking good care of our patients and working together, especially in an emergent situation,” Kaitlin says.
“Kaitlin had Tanner Clinic send the patient right over, and she was scanned immediately at our facility,” says Lindsay Cutler, imaging manager. “Both the patient and the folks at Tanner were extremely grateful for the quick accommodation. The patient said she was thankful that two differing hospital and medical groups worked together, rather than just be competitors.”
The storm damage near the complex where Evert Aranda visited with a patient
In Salt Lake, Evert Aranda, a home health aide was recognized by a quadriplegic patient who’d lost her power at home and was stuck in bed, worried she’d be left alone that day. “She was afraid no one would come for her because of the weather and damage from the storm,” says Evert. “I think she was amazed I arrived as usual, on time. There were multiple fallen trees outside her complex and I had to climb the stairs to the eighth floor since the elevator was out of service, but I wasn’t going to miss our visit.”
“This patient said I was a walking miracle to her that day,” he adds. “She kept saying thank you, thank you.”
“I applaud our caregivers for their dedication and willingness to be there for our community and patients during this serious wind storm,” says Rob Allen, Intermountain’s chief operating officer. “This is a reminder of how both teams and individuals can make a difference during a difficult event. I appreciate everyone who stepped forward and worked so hard on such a challenging day.”
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“This patient said I was a walking miracle to her that day,” he adds. “She kept saying thank you, thank you.”
“I applaud our caregivers for their dedication and willingness to be there for our community and patients during this serious wind storm,” says Rob Allen, Intermountain’s chief operating officer. “This is a reminder of how both teams and individuals can make a difference during a difficult event. I appreciate everyone who stepped forward and worked so hard on such a challenging day.”
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