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ED WILKINSON’S STORY
CARING STAFF CHANGED
PERSPECTIVE ON LOCAL CARE
FOR ED WILKINSON,
it all started with a rash, an
antibiotic and a serious reaction. Nothing was going
quite right for Wilkinson when he began treatment for
shingles. The medication he was given caused unexpected
and severe nausea, unrelenting vomiting, and dehydra-
tion. After losing consciousness several times—the last of
which caused him to fall and wrench a replaced knee—he
knew it was time to call his doctor.
AN EMERGENCY SITUATION
His doctor recommended
he go to the emergency department or the walk-in clinic
right away for rehydration. Wilkinson selected the hos-
pital option, an ambulance was called and he arrived at
Samaritan’s emergency department. He spent nearly five
hours being treated for dehydration. “While I was there,
the emergency department was very busy,” Wilkinson
says, “But Mike, my nurse, was with me every step of
the way, always making sure I was comfortable and cared
for.” Wilkinson was released with instructions to follow
up with his primary care provider.
Despite the rehydration, Wilkinson’s systemwas in such
shock that an hour later he was back in the emergency
room, this time with alarming gastrointestinal bleeding.
From the emergency room, he was moved to a room on
the second floor medical-surgical unit, where he stayed
for the next five days. Wilkinson is very grateful for the
way his medical care was coordinated. “When I was
concerned about not having my heart medication, my
nurse Jen monitored my vitals and worked closely with
my doctor to find the right medication that I could take
while my body was healing,” he says.
ATTENTIVE CARE
Wilkinson praised the staff that took
care of him at Samaritan, from his attentive nurses—who
realized his back and wrenched knee were bothering him
and kept him in ice and pain relief—to the dietary staff
that delivered him delicious food, even when he wasn’t
hungry enough to properly appreciate it. He recalls the
conscientiousness of the Environmental Services staff,
appreciating their sensitive and courteous approach to
keeping his room stocked and clean.
In the past, Wilkinson and his family have sought spe-
cialty care in Spokane, and he was wary of receiving care
locally, not sure that Samaritan had the capabilities he
felt were needed in his situation, despite encouragement
from his daughter Kim, a registered nurse at Samaritan.
After his stay, he says: “I have no reservations about the
level of care I received. The staff at Samaritan has given
me a completely different perspective going forward.”
WRITE Program student and
Moses Lake native wants to
‘give back’
Kameron Firouzi is a third-year
medical student at the Univer-
sity of Washington School of
Medicine. As part of his studies
and participation in the TRUST
program, he will be spending
half of his third year in Moses
Lake. He is excited to be here
and looking forward to the
opportunity to learn from his
preceptors and teachers in
Moses Lake.
Firouzi is a Moses Lake
native and a graduate of
Moses Lake Christian Academy. He has two younger
sisters, who mean the world to him, and he especially
looks forward to his visits home to spend time with his
family—particularly his dad, who he considers his role
model. Firouzi majored in physiology at the University
of Washington. He married Ashley, his high school
sweetheart and the love of his life, three summers ago.
They have two dogs, a Westie and a springer spaniel, that
keep them very busy. Firouzi enjoys hunting, basketball,
golf and football and is a die-hard Denver Broncos fan—
he hasn’t missed a televised game since 1998!
His passion for medicine came from growing up in
Moses Lake and wanting to one day give back to a com-
munity that has given him so much.
University of Washington Medicine
WRITE (WWAMI Rural Integrated Training
Experience) Program
The WRITE program is an 18- to 22-week clerkship expe-
rience for third-year medical students from the University
of Washington School of Medicine. These students have
applied and been selected by the university to spend the
second half of their third year in a rural practice. Prior
to beginning the WRITE program, they have typically
completed extensive training: six weeks of OB-GYN, six
weeks of surgery, six weeks of internal medicine, three
weeks of pediatrics and three weeks of psychiatry. Dur-
ing the WRITE clerkship, they will receive training in fam-
ily medicine as well as additional training in chronic care,
pediatrics, internal medicine and psychiatry.
Co-Preceptors
■
■
Hollie Matthews, MD
WRITE co-preceptor
Samaritan Healthcare
793-9780
1550 S. Pioneer Way, Suite 150
Moses Lake
■
■
Dennis Kearns, MD
WRITE co-preceptor
Confluence Health–Moses Lake Clinic
764-6400
840 E. Hill St.
Moses Lake
TAKE 5 FOR YOUR HEALTH
WHAT CAN YOU
do to get the best and
safest health care possible? Take five.
No, that doesn’t mean relax (al-
though that’s good for you too). It
means taking five steps toward becom-
ing a better advocate for your health.
People who are more involved in
their care tend to get better results, the Agency for Health-
care Research and Quality reports. Being an involved pa-
tient also can help you avoid problems such as dangerous
drug interactions. So, consider taking these steps:
1
Speak up.
Ask your doctor any questions you have
about symptoms, medicines, tests or treatments. Your
physician should provide clear, honest answers.
2
Monitor your medications.
Prescribed drugs can be
dangerous when combined with certain other drugs,
foods, herbal remedies or over-the-counter medicines.
To guard against such problems, show your doctor a list
of all the medicines, vitamins and herbal products you use.
3
Get results.
If your doctor orders medical tests, be
sure you learn the findings and what they mean to your
health. Call if you don’t hear back from your doctor or
the lab when expected.
4
Be sure.
If your physician recommends a particular
medicine or surgical procedure, make sure you know why.
Ask if you have other options. What are the benefits
and drawbacks of the treatment? Are there risks?
If you still aren’t sure how to proceed, it may be appro-
priate to request a second opinion from another doctor.
If you go through with a treatment, make sure ev-
eryone taking care of you knows important facts about
your health, such as any allergies you have to medicines.
5
Follow up.
Care doesn’t end once you leave a doctor’s
office or hospital. Call your doctor if:
●
●
Symptoms get worse.
●
●
Medicines cause side effects.
●
●
You develop complications while recovering from a
procedure.
Kameron Firouzi,
third-year medical
student, University
of Washington
Ed Wilkinson, Samaritan patient
S P R I N G 2 0 1 5
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T H E
S A M A R I T A N