The Vegas Voice 7-20

Hip, Hip Hooray
By: Sam Wagmeister / People & Places
On a personal note: The online Oxford
dictionary defines good customer service:
providing timely, attentive, upbeat service…
making sure…needs are met in a manner that
reflects positively on the company…
I define customer service as Hang Lam, a petite lady who sits in a
cubicle in the lobby of St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson. She
walks patients through the reams of paperwork prior to surgery.
The job, I imagine, can be approached as indifferently as dispensing
a movie theater ticket
or with understanding
for the trepidation that
patients feel. Hang Lam
chooses the second
option.
For a year and a
half, my get-up-and-go
suffered as I dealt with
disabling pain from a
hip needing replacement
and an underperforming
insurance provider. I
changed insurance
companies and physicians.
Two months after remarkably successful surgery the pain subsided
but the second hip became even more debilitating. My orthopedic
surgeon, Dr. Mark Allen, scheduled the second surgery like the first, at
St. Rose.
There’s an overwhelming defeat that accompanies long-term pain.
At pre-registration, I parked in a nearby No Parking zone, unable
to walk the distance from public parking. I was directed to Mrs. Lam’s
desk and together we reviewed the prerequisite documents with me
doing the electronic signing. But then…Disappointment!
Mrs. Lam discovered that the surgical order had not been received
from the surgeon’s office. She called and left a voice mail then asked
if I wanted to wait.
“No, it could take several hours for them to get the message and
respond.” I fought through the ache and painfully returned to my car,
sitting dejected, licking my emotional wounds for a moment fearing
that the surgery would be delayed.
In my rearview mirror, there was Mrs. Lam, shuffling as fast as she
could to my car. She had received the surgery order and could complete
my registration. She worked through her lunch hour to insure that my
surgery would occur as planned…as hoped.
And the day of my discharge, Mrs. Lam came to my room to check
on me and wish me well. St. Rose should be proud of Mrs. Hang Lam.
Thank you.
Sam Wagmeister is The Vegas Voice Nightlife Editor. He loves to
hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact him via email:
LasVegasHomeTeam@Gmail.com.
19