OUR MODERN MIRACLE
January, 2010Four eighteen O'clock Monday morning awake worrying about kids when the phone rang. The number looked like that of Grandson Canaan so I picked up.
"This is Julie from Mayo Clinic, is this the home of Marylyn Bradley?" I answered in the affirmative. "May I please speak to her?" I took the phone to Marylyn. "A perfect match kidney is available. Can you be here within two hours."
We arrived, I gave Marylyn a betadine scrubbing, she put on a gown and was wheeled into surgery prep. Surgery was from 11:30am to 02:30pm after which Dr. Mulligan walked over to say "The operation went well, the new kidney was actually working as we closed up and Mrs. Bradley is now in recovery."
About 6pm Marylyn was transported to the ICU where she was hooked up to multi-wires and hoses that fed into alarm equipped monitors showing squiggly lines and ominous numbers like those seen on television. I spent the night next to her while a cheerful and obviously competent nurse checked in and out every few minutes all night long.
Tuesday afternoon a Physical Therapist helped Marylyn sit and standup and he and her nurse walked her four times around the unit which was interesting to watch given the many ways she was tethered to an electronic Christmas tree.
A little later most wires and tubes were disconnected. Marylyn was transported down the hall to a new room also fully equipped with a cheerful competent nurse like those I have grown to admire. Another all-nighter but this time we actually got a little sleep.
Wednesday we woke up to learn health care reform was dead having been killed by a rich selfish Massachusetts man who had his and doesn't want to share. Drove home to get the house ready for Marylyn's return where I was assaulted by a John McCain funded robo-call to hear a selfish Massachusetts pig squealing how he was going to kill health care reform. Ever scream in anger at a recorded message?
Wednesday afternoon I walked Marylyn on a leash, lots of patient education followed by too much real food for dinner. Almost free we both got some sleep.
Home Thursday afternoon in time to realize we forgot to stop at the Mayo Pharmacy to pickup "fast-acting insulin." Scrambling we got it here just in time for evening medications.
Treatments nurses make look easy are actually very complicated and we totally blew our Friday morning mandatory routine. For the first time I realized it was going to take both of us, working as a team, for Marylyn to get well. I contacted the Estrella Human Resources Manager to apply for Family Medical Leave and we returned to Mayo Clinic to meet the Transplant Manager responsible for Marylyn's case.
Saturday we actually got the morning routine right plus my nurse sister Carolyn, and her super competent husband, are on the way to help.
Said Marylyn to our son-in-law, "Now there's a chance I'll get to attend Lydia's high school graduation."
Implementing a Team Approach to Anticipatory Preparation and Application for
UNPAID FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE
February 2010Executive Summary
I found it difficult to know and comply with Maricopa Community College District policies and procedures. This is frustrating and inefficient.
Life is easier at Mayo Clinic where care is coordinated by nurse led interdisciplinary health care teams. For example, when Express Scripts accidentally dropped coverage of essential medications, a mistake that caused us thirty-six hours of frantic anxious activity, the next time we met our team leader she simply said, "I'll take care of that" which is what she did.
It is my recommendation that the Maricopa Community Colleges have a Human Resources Professional on-call 24-7 to coordinate the many processes that must occur for an employee to comply with Maricopa Community College District policies and procedures when forced to apply for Federal Medical Leave and similar programs.
Progressive kidney failure has influenced our daily family routines for more than a decade. By early 2009 it was obvious dialysis would be problematic if possible. In desperation my wife completed a complete kidney transplant workup in summer 2009 knowing it unlikely she would ever receive a transplant. To be considered a candidate must...
Not wanting to deny my wife the gift of life I visited the Estrella Mountain Community College Human Resources Office, met with the Director of Human Resources and asked her...
In response I met with my Division Head. To minimize the impact on students should I be forced to take emergency leave we...
I then...
Four O'clock Monday morning, the day before spring semester classes began, the phone rang.
"This is Julie from Mayo Clinic, is this home of Marylyn Bradley?" I answered in the affirmative. "May I please speak to her?" I took the phone to her. Julie said "A perfect match kidney is available. Can you be here in two hours."
To make sure my students would be cared for I immediately called Estrella Mountain Community College. A Security Officer admitted me to Mariposa Hall and my office. I placed instructional materials and course syllabi where Roger Yohe could use them to launch each of the courses I was scheduled to teach.
While Marylyn was in surgery I contacted Roger Yohe, my current Division Chair and my incoming Division Chair to inform them of what had occurred and that I would be unable to meet the classes I was scheduled to teach. Roger immediately agreed to launch each course as planned.
In a few days it was safe to break away from my wife's side. I traveled home to prepare the house for Marylyn's return and visited Estrella Mountain Community College to meet with my Division Chair and apply for unpaid Federal Medical Leave. My Division Chair...
Ms. Mahmood explained that there are two forms of Federal Medical Leave:
I applied for Intermittent Federal Medical Leave because I teach Internet enhanced courses that require substantial student-instructor communication via E-Mail and constant review, comment and correction of multiple student submitted assignments; all of which I can do from home without compromising my ability to be a care-giver. I also learned it was my job to enter "daily sick hours" into the HRMS system. (A task system"quirks" makes difficult to do).
Ms. Mahmood Faxed a Federal Medical Leave of Absence Request form to an Estrella Mountain Community College office where it could be downloaded, completed, signed and returned to Carol Garcia at the District Support Services Center.
I carried a complicated Health Care Provider Certification (HCPC) form to Mayo Clinic where the Kidney Transplant Coordinator completed the section which described Marylyn's condition and my related responsibilities. The Kidney Transplant Coordinator obtained the attending Physician Assistant's signature then Faxed the completed form to Carol Garcia at the District Support Services Center.
The next day I completed and Faxed those sections of the form which detail my related Care Giver Responsibilities to Carol Garcia at the District Support Services Center. Later that evening Ms. Garcia called to inform me that my application for Intermittent Federal Medical Leave had been approved.
Conclusions
I am grateful that I work for the Maricopa Community Colleges where benefits like Sick Pay exist at a time when most American employers have eliminated such benefits for everyone but their highest-paid executives.
I am grateful that I live in The United States of America where Federal Medical Leave makes it possible for caregivers and employees, who can afford to be without income for an extended period of time, to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to recover from a major medical crisis.
As always there may is room for improvement. Having never had a sick day I had not spent any time thinking about how these Maricopa and Federal programs worked. My confusion was compounded by the intense emotions that accompanied this medical emergency. The combination of ignorance and emotion made it difficult for me to think in a calm rational manner.
I have found it difficult to know and comply with Maricopa Community College District policies and procedures. This is frustrating and inefficient.
Life is easier at Mayo Clinic. Mayo care is provided by nurse led interdisciplinary health care teams. My first doctoral level position was Coordinator of an Interdisciplinary Health Team project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill so I thought I knew a lot about such teams. I now realize only patients and care givers really understand the added technical and humanitarian value received from an interdisciplinary health team.
Life is easier at Mayo Clinic because a Registered Nurse, in the role of Kidney Transplant Coordinator, helps patients solve complicated health care service problems. For example, when Express Scripts accidentally dropped coverage of essential medications, a mistake that caused my wife and me thirty-six hours of frantic anxious activity, the next time we met our team leader she simply said, "I'll take care of that" which is what she did.
The team leader herself could not provide all medical, social worker or pharmacy related services but that was not her job. It was her job to ease our journey through the maize of medical jargon, complicated procedures and treatments. Patients and their families love Mayo Clinic because of the quality of care received and how they are helped by nurse led interdisciplinary health care teams.
This is a very high stakes game. As my wife explained, "Now there's a chance I'll get to attend Lydia's high school graduation."
It is my recommendation that the Maricopa Community Colleges train at least one Human Resources Professional to guide employees work through the many processes that must occur for an employee to apply for Federal Medical Leave and quickly return to work. In my opinion this would minimize problems for everyone whom the affected employee serves and maximize employee satisfaction with services provided by District Support Services Human Resources professionals.
Members of each policy group will have different issues. I am a member of the Residential Faculty who was scheduled to teach four courses during the first eight weeks of spring semester and three courses during the second eight weeks. I therefore applied for eight weeks of unpaid Federal Medical Leave to make life easier for students, colleagues and my wife.
Both interpersonal and technical issues arose.
Having created the Organizational Management program I am very serious about the sanctity of my responsibility to students therein enrolled. Anyone trying to help me must understand I will not abandon my students or the colleagues with whom I share this mission. I know my wife feels the same about Phi Theta Kappa. I am certain thousands of Maricopans' share our dedication to mission.
Technical issues that complicated my ability to comply with policies and procedures, while taking care of my students, colleagues and the adjunct faculty hired to meet with my students, include not knowing...
This can be a learning moment. The governing board mandate that central administrators improve efficiency creates a sense of urgency. Recent personal experience with coordinated Mayo Clinic Interdisciplinary Health Care Teams provides insight as to how central administrators might more efficiently work with employees to minimize disruption of service to those whom each of us serves.