Staff members of the High Plains Community Health Center

The following is an article written by Jay Brooke of the High Plains Community Health Center.

In the Name of Patient Access
By Jay Brooke

I received the frantic call at about 7:30 p.m. last night that fire sprinkler pipes in the ceiling at High Plains, frozen by a minus 40 degree wind chill, had burst and the building was flooding. When I arrived there was two inches of water covering the north half of the building. By midnight things were in place to ensure we could see patients as scheduled at 8 a.m. today. What happened in those four hours last night is a testament to the commitment of the High Plains staff and friends to make sure our patients come first and no matter what we are here to be their medical home.

Thank goodness Lisa and Cece were in the building, normally there would be nobody in the building at that time and many feet of water would have dumped. They began calling people on the phone tree, sounding the alarm, with the roar of water pouring onto the floor in the background. There must be somewhere to turn off the water or was that left out of the emergency preparedness training? Shae arrived on scene and secured the assistance of her father in finding the right valve to shut off the water. Phase one was accomplished with the source of the problem scuttled. There was a very brief sigh of relief until the several inches of water on the floor was noted. The people on site grabbed mops and anything they could find to try and remove the many, many gallons of water. There was Jessica walking barefooted through the water getting people organized and soaking up water anyway she could.

Then they began to arrive out of the below zero weather – staff and friends of staff bearing mops, buckets, and wet/dry vacuums to attack the water. There was Shae, Jessica, Lisa, Cece, Nichole, Billie, Linda, Denise, Kacee, Carlos, Shawna, Riley, Becky, Jessie, Andrea, Emily, Courtney and Meagan finding ways to remove the water and Monette orchestrating things on the phone. What seemed like an impossible task of draining gallons of water was done in a couple hours. When the bulk of the water was off the floor, it was time for a huddle to plan next steps and answer the question about whether High Plains was going to be open and see patients the next day. John Vargas and wife Sylvia arrived to replace the pipe in the three places it was burst. Joel and Ken provided assistance with their carpet expertise. The decision was made to see patients in our new building that was not quite ready for use. Shae took a crew to the new building to get it ready for patients in the morning while the rest of us worked on the still soaked carpet.

Kevin and Ryan arrived to give us computer access in the new building. By midnight we were ready to see patients, as scheduled, today. There are some lessons to be learned such as what additional preventive measures need to be taken when it is -40 degrees wind chill, where to turn the water off and, oh ye,s a new chapter in the emergency preparedness manual.

This was an amazing response from these health care heroes who are dedicated to ensuring High Plains is there for our patients and no obstacle is too large to block access to primary care.

Check out this great video on the work the High Plains Community Health Center is doing!