MEDICAL HOME:

THE NEW 'OLD" SOLUTION THAT'S SAVING
MANUFACTURERS A FORTUNE
IN HEALTHCARE COSTS
By Rory Greene

 

 

In 2005 I became Health Services Coordinator for a relatively large manufacturing facility in Mid-Central Indiana.  This facility consisted of two large plants with a fluctuating employee base of between 1,200 and 1,600 depending on production needs throughout the year.  My first office was located in the ‘old’ plant built in the early 1900’s.  The medical office was very large with two private patient rooms, a kitchen area, a front office area, two restrooms, and one private office.  Since the space hadn’t been occupied recently, my first order of business to clean house.  In my housekeeping binge I discovered medical records stored in boxes dating back to the 1940’s, all cataloged by employee date of termination, and trays of medical instruments scattered throughout the clinic.  Since, I had spent my early career as an Operating Room Nurse I recognized the instruments .  There were instruments used to take tonsils out, instruments used for orthopedics procedures, and, most surprising to me, instruments used in OB/GYN examinations. I even found an old fashioned anesthesia set including a glass mask, glass syringe, and an Ether containeronce used to render patients unconscious for surgical procedures. What were these surgical instruments doing in a plant medical office?

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Rory Greene has been a practicing Registered Nurse since 1995.  His career has taken him from the operating room to the board room where he served as Administrative Director of Operations for one of the largest multispecialty groups and hospital systems in the Midwest. He currently serves as the Nurse Manager and Client Relations Specialist for Work-Comp Management Services, a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise specializing in Occupational Health and Wellness program management throughout the U.S.