5 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
• Going the extra mile.
Life may be a little bit
different in Alaska, but
when it comes to mak-
ing surgical patients
and their family mem-
bers feel at home,
compassion and a
warm blanket are uni-
versal.
"Some of our patients
travel a long way to get to our facility, and a lot of them are coming
from small villages, so it's a little bit of culture shock when they get
here," says Cassy Kincaid, RN, MHA, PhD, the administrator of
Alaska Cardiovascular Surgery Center in Anchorage. "We do every-
thing we can to make patients and their families feel like honored
guests."
If the patient needs a medication that's not available at an on-
site pharmacy, staff will leave campus to go get it. If patients are
in the OR for a long procedure — say, 6 hours for a cardiac abla-
tion — staff will bring family members warm blankets and update
them on their loved one's status every 30 minutes to lessen their
anxiety. And if a patient requires overnight accommodations, the
staff will make that happen, too.
"Just the other day we had a gentleman who did very well with
his intervention, but he then came down with a fever and didn't
want to travel all the way back home," says Dr. Kincaid. "We told
HONORABLE MENTIONS
• BE OUR GUEST Alaska Cardiovascular Surgery Center's staff takes extra
care to make patients and their families feel like "honored guests."
Warmth and Compassion Go a Long Way
