A story of practice rescue and patient support during a power outage by Dr. Keith Manuel of Space Center Eye Associates:
I recently bought a new Ford truck which has a 7.2Kw generator built into it. I thought at the time that it was a great selling point for a construction worker, but a feature I never thought I would need as an Optometrist.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we lost electricity in our office the last 2 hours of the business day. That day we had 3 patients in the waiting room who had driven over 2 hours for their appointment. What is one to do? Tell them sorry, come back tomorrow? Absolutely not. My lead technician, Naomi, says, “Don’t you have a generator on your new Ford truck?”
I proceeded to back my truck up to the back door of the office, then ran an extension cord to the closest exam room. In no time at all, I was able to take care of the long-distance patients, much to their appreciation.
The saga continues the next morning when we discovered the electricity was still out. I brought extra electrical cords from home so we could run separate extension cords to the server, the internet, and the exam room. We continued examining patients for 2 more hours until utilities were finally restored. One patient specifically, came in with severe eye pain. I really felt this demonstrated great staff commitment to our patients that they were able to brainstorm a work-around solution and implement it seamlessly.
Life is good with a great support staff!
