One thing all of our Hancock Physician Network offices have in common: They’re all staffed with amazing teams of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. We’d like you to meet them all.
So each month, we’ll be going behind the scenes to give you a close look at one HPN office. This month, we’re featuring Hancock’s OB/GYN team, made up of Dr. Thomas Jones, Dr. Lawrence Lo, Dr. Hugh McGowan, Dr. Caroline Eringo, Dr. Raquel Ton, Kim Heim, NP, and Danae Young, NP. We had a few questions for the team and learned that they’re even more amazing than we thought.
How do your office’s duties fit into Hancock Health as a whole?
Hancock OB/GYN provides gynecological and obstetrical care for women of all ages. We collaborate with many other departments within Hancock Regional Hospital to provide comprehensive care.
How does your office coordinate or collaborate with other departments?
We work collaboratively with the Andis Women’s & Children’s Department to provide the highest level of care for our delivering mothers and recovering patients. We also work closely with Hancock Surgery Center and Hancock Surgical Group to provide the most up-to-date equipment and procedures for safe, individualized care for our patients.
What is the most important function of your office?
We do everything we can to make maternal health a comfortable and enjoyable experience by equipping our moms-to-be with all of the education and tools they need for the best outcomes for delivery. Our compassionate physicians truly take the time to discuss women’s health issues with every one of our patients.
Visiting the OB/GYN can be a scary experience. How do you work with patients to eliminate worries?
From reception to checkout, our patients can expect to be treated with the utmost respect. Our front office staff greets each patient warmly and sets the tone for the visit. The nursing staff prepares the patient by explaining procedures and is a calming presence throughout the visit. Our phlebotomist and ultrasound tech are often praised for the professional-but-kind way they treat our patients.
Why should a patient come to your office instead of a different hospital?
When patients come to our office, they see familiar faces: doctors and nurses who live right here in this community. All our patients are treated like individuals, with genuine concern and kindness you often don’t find in other hospitals.
When is a time a staff member went above and beyond for a patient?
We see our staff do amazing things for our patients on a daily basis. Our medical assistants jump in to care for patients assigned to a different staff member to help out when things get busy, fill in when team members are sick, and literally run patients across the parking lot in a wheelchair to the Andis unit or the ER. I’ve seen our providers accept brand new-patients with emergent situations without hesitation, and then rush them immediately to surgery.
What innovation at Hancock or in your field are you most excited about, and what does it mean for the healthcare industry as a whole?
Besides physicians and nurse practitioners who continue to stay current on all of the newest treatment options and procedures, we’re most excited about our maternal care companion and our social worker. Our maternal care companion, Lisa Buksar, sees our maternity patients at pivotal points in their pregnancy and educates them in preparation for labor, delivery, and beyond. As a result, the Andis unit is now seeing women that are more confident and better prepared for this monumental experience.
Our social worker, Christy Harpold, is seeing women that have been screened and are at risk for postpartum depression. With our doctors and nurses, she is able to identify this risk early on and provide guidance and treatment options.
As the healthcare industry continues to be driven by insurance, money, and the bottom line, we’re focusing on people and their distinct individual needs by healing, improving health and wellness, alleviating suffering, and delivering acts of kindness—one person at a time.
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