Take me to Herriman Emergency Center for calm, quality care
Lisa Buchanan’s 50-year-old daughter has multiple disabilities, so during the past 50 years Lisa has accumulated more experience in emergency rooms than the average person. During that time, Lisa has learned what makes a fantastic emergency room visit — and she’s found it consistently at Herriman Emergency Center.
“There always seems to be a level of chaos in emergency rooms, even if people aren’t frantically doing things, but it has absolutely not been that way at Herriman Emergency Center. In fact, I would say it’s been calming there. The team members bring a calming presence,” Lisa said.
Lisa’s daughter Heather has septo-optic dysplasia (SOD), a rare congenital disorder that has left Heather blind and affected her brain development. Due to SOD, Heather’s body cannot intuitively regulate her sodium levels. Most recently, Heather’s sodium levels escalated due to dehydration. Lisa knew the best way to restore balance in Heather’s body would be to get her an intravenous infusion at an emergency room.
Herriman Emergency Center: Quickly greeted, quickly (and calmly) cared for
Lisa drove Heather to the nearest emergency room but was met with chaos and long wait times. With permission, she waved goodbye and drove a little further to Herriman Emergency Center.
“At Herriman, we walked in and were greeted almost immediately. I don’t even know if we sat down before they took us back, and then almost immediately Nurse Lindsey came in and started checking everything and getting us settled in,” Lisa said.
Next, Lisa met emergency physician Dr. Randall Bess.
“Sometimes ER physicians can come in aggressively, assuming they know patients better than their parents. Thankfully, Dr. Bess came in and took time to really listen to me about Heather’s history and the goal of what we were trying to achieve, and then he made an informed decision about how to medically treat her. That’s essential when treating someone with disabilities in an emergency!”
Dr. Bess recommended a blood test to check Heather’s sodium levels before and after an intravenous infusion, and then Nurse Lindsey worked with Heather to get the treatment started.
Every person in an emergency deserves dignity, respect and compassion
“They gave Heather dignity and respect. It’s my pet peeve when people act like the person with the disability has no voice. It wasn’t like that at all. They asked her questions and connected with Heather. When it came time to take blood, they asked her for her permission and, since Heather is blind, they explained each step in the process, so Heather knew what was going on. Truly, they were calming, caring and soothing as they talked with her,” Lisa said.
Heather’s nausea soon subsided and her sodium levels stabilized. Within an hour, the emergency center visit came to a close.
“I arrived concerned about my daughter — concerned enough about her health that I was bringing her to an emergency room. The fact that they were able to give such a calming presence is pretty unique to that kind of situation,” Lisa said. “I walked out of there and it didn’t even feel like I had been in an emergency room. This is my second awesome experience at Herriman Emergency Center. While I’m a little reluctant to share how great it is, just because I don’t want it to become overcrowded, I think it’s really important for people to know just how wonderful the team is there. They have exceptional people caring for our community!”