Bart Sayer and Nisha Ward, inventory coordinators, found a lost phone a bag of soiled linens.
Imagine your loved one has been discharged from the hospital only to realize their phone is missing and was left in their room. While they have a “friend finder” app that allows the phone to be located, when you come to the hospital to try and find it, it’s in an area that’s not accessible.
A daughter whose mother had lost her phone was facing this scenario at Alta View Hospital. The daughter had visited a few floors asking for help but was running out of options. The phone still had battery life and showed a ping in the middle of the facility.
Leslie Marsh, RN, in the infusion center, says when the daughter approached her, she was desperate.
“She’d walked around the entire hospital and visited every single entrance. She came to us because we were the last place to check,” says Leslie.
Leslie took the daughter’s number and told her she’d call if they found it.
Leslie had the idea to try linens and materials management, though she wasn’t sure if she’d reach anyone.
“Linens is in the middle of the hospital down by the loading dock, in a long hallway that’s not accessible to the public,” she says.
It was late in the day on a Friday, but fortunately, Bart Sayer, inventory coordinator, heard the phone and answered, even though he was clocked out and heading out the door for the weekend. He recognized Leslie’s number and answered just in case something was needed.
Tammy Madsen, inventory operations manager, says, “What’s amazing is Bart was about to go out of town for vacation. That gesture of answering the phone after clocking out is incredible.”
From there, Bart and Tammy connected, and then Nisha Ward, inventory coordinator, was looped in. Tammy let Nisha know she needed help to unload carts of soiled linen bags that were ready to go to Central Laundry for processing. The plan was to line them up in the hallway near the loading dock and call the missing phone.
By the time Tammy joined Nisha, Nisha had already unloaded about 100 bags, says Tammy. They then called the phone and listened for a ring.
“We quickly located the bag and pulled out the missing phone, so that part was easy,” Tammy says.
“Nisha and Bart are two of the most caring, trusting, and kind individuals you’ll ever meet,” says Tammy. “They’re stellar examples of Intermountain’s value’s and healing commitments. They both have such a positive impact within our team as well as the entire campus, creating friendships wherever they go. They put in 100% and are totally engaged in all they do. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with them.”
When the daughter got the news the phone was found, she was so happy she brought in treats for the caregivers.
“She really appreciated we’d listened to her and took her problem seriously,” says Leslie. “Finding that phone was like a blessing, good karma, and good luck. The dominos just happened to fall perfectly to find it.”