Co-op at:
Leamington District Memorial
Hospital
By: Andria Blackburn
LDMH
Mission Statement: “LDMH is dedicated to improving the
health status of the people we serve. With compassion
and in partnership with others we will strive to provide
quality, continuity of service and excellence in health
care.”
Vision: “We will be a respected leader in an integrated
health system.”
http://www.leamingtonhospital.com/general/default.asp
History of LDMH
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“The Leamington District Memorial Hospital was completed on April 1, 1950.
The total cost for the hospital was $482,968. The Rotary Hopewell Hospital
was able to close and donate its equipment and supplies to the new facility.
The Board was able to raise enough money to build the hospital and open
its doors free of debt.”
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“Today, the hospital has a very different face than it did 50 years ago.
Perhaps its age shows on the outside, but its soul is as vibrant as ever.”
http://www.leamingtonhospital.com/general/default.asp
Purpose of my Co-op Placement
• To explore careers at a workplace that meet your
interests
• To get “hands on” experience with exploring your
possible careers
• To learn from professionals who have been educated
and have experience in their career
• To provide opportunities to become interested in
other areas of the field
Purpose & Overall Function of the
Business
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To provide health care to the community
To provide patients with high quality care
To provide patients with healthy living education
To help patients recover to good health and provide them with
resources and education to remain healthy
• To recognize the proper diagnosis and treatment process for each
patient
• To follow LDMH’s values of “Accountability, Service, Teamwork,
Respect and Innovation”
(http://209.202.75.43/aboutus/documents/CorporateValues.pdf)
LDMH Procedures
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At LDMH it is required that all patients and
staff when entering the hospital sanitize their
hands. Also when staff move from patient to
patient it is a procedure that they sanitize
their hands before going to the next patient.
There are sanitization containers all over the
hospital for staff, patient, and visitors
convenience.
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Another procedure at LDMH is that all staff
and volunteers must sign a confidentiality
agreement. The confidentiality agreement
states that you will not tell anyone about the
people you see at the hospital, patient
information you receive, confidential papers
you work with and so forth. This procedure
is to respect patient and staff’s privacy.
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Throughout the hospital there are “Contact
Precautions” signs. This procedure is used
so that people at LDMH know to follow the
certain safety precautions before entering
the patient’s room.
Administration and Volunteer
office
Working in the mail room on the
computer. Collected comment papers
left in comment boxes from patients.
They are found throughout the
hospital. Typed up the comments onto
the computer. For this duty I was
working with the staff from
Administration.
Working in the mail room. Making
many photocopies of papers that I
put into LDMH’s orientation
binders. For this duty I was working
with my supervisor.
Emergency Department
Taking off bed sheets and
sanitizing bed once a patient
has left.
Escorting patients to different
departments, such as X-ray.
Restocking linen and glove
compartments in Emergency
rooms.
Restocking and folding clean linen
for the linen cart.
INR Clinic
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When the INR Clinic first opens in the
morning it is my duty to get the clinic ready
for the day. In this picture I am getting the
Vital Signs monitor and putting it in each
room at the clinic.
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It is my duty to greet the patients and get the
patients files ready for the nurses. In order
for the files to be ready, they must have the
patient’s stickers on the file and be in the
correct order based on the patients arrival.
Then once the patients have seen the nurse,
I put their blood work sheet onto their file to
be seen by the nurse and doctor.
Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound
Departments
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In the Nuclear Medicine Department I
shadowed two technicians who have been
working in their career for many years. They
are highly trained and intelligent people.
When shadowing them, my duties were to
assist the staff when required.
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In the Ultrasound Department I shadowed
the technicians. I watched a number of
patients have ultrasounds and even got to
see an ultrasound of a baby. My duties in
this department were to empty the linen
bags, restock linen in the change rooms,
and to make up the beds for patients. Also
to assist the staff when required.
Operating Room/Recovery Room
• Organizing where
patients will go when
they come into the
department. I am
highlighting a patients
name, which signifies
that I have brought
them in and have
assigned them a bed.
• When patients
first come into the
OR they need to
get changed and
lay down on the
bed. I explain to
them what they
need to change into
to, provide them
with a warm
blanket, and help to
answer any of their
questions.
• When patients
come out of surgery
they go back into the
same room , except
now you treat them
as a recovery
patient. I offer them
something to eat
and drink, and I
bring in their family
members who have
been waiting for
them.
• This sign indicates
my duty to bring
patients from the
waiting area to the
OR and get them
ready for the
nurses.
Porter
Putting ice into the water pitchers.
Bringing the clean water pitchers
to patients.
Many volunteers porter fresh water, mail and
flowers to patients on the second floor of the
hospital.
The steps that you use to porter water are:
fill pitchers with a couple scoops of ice, fill
the same pitchers with cold water, fill about
6 pitchers with just cold water, put the lids
on all the pitchers, collect all the dirty
pitchers from patients rooms, deliver fresh
water to patients.
While you are delivering fresh water to
patients it is nice to talk with the patients.
The patients really enjoy the company and
like having someone to talk to.
After I am done the water, I fill the glove
compartments and make bath bags for the
nurses.
Shadow Dr. Park
When I worked at LDMH I had
the opportunity to shadow Dr.
Park in the Emergency
department on Wednesdays.
This was a great opportunity and
I really enjoyed it. I was allowed
to go into the patients room with
the doctor while she was giving
the patient an assessment. She
always included me and
explained to me everything she
was doing. She explained to me
what the patient came in for,
what she was going to look for,
and what she would do for the
treatment of the patient.
X-Ray
It is my duty to put the x-ray films
back into their proper location.
This is one of the x-ray
machines at the hospital.
Sometimes the technicians
will let you put the x-ray film
into the computer.
In this picture I am watching a
patient have their x-ray behind
the lead sheet for protection.
How Science is applied/practiced at
LDMH Co-op placement?
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When working at my Co-op, you are constantly learning. Since you are
surrounded by professionals who know so much about health care, you are
always learning new things about science.
The staff at LDMH will always take time to explain what they are doing and
answer any questions you have.
While working at LDMH, the main school subjects that I learned about were
Biology and Chemistry.
I learned some Biology at my co-op placement when learning about the
human body, through talking with nurses, doctors, technicians etc.
I learned some Chemistry at my co-op placement when learning about
medications, through talking with nurses and doctors.