George “Bunk” White has been receiving treatment at Rapid City Hospital’s Infusion Services for around 10 years.
“They have one thing in mind, and that is patient care. That’s it. And I have never seen a group of people that work together so well. They really, really like what they’re doing,” he says. “I can go in there and not feel that great and — there’s an old hippie term, the vibes — there’s great vibes in there.”
Bunk credits the great vibes to the team at Infusion Services. Recently, he asked to speak to the people in charge. That would be Brandi Tackett, Director Infusion Service and Kimberly Lyons, Manager Nurse Ambulatory Operations.
“You get a little worried when a patient wants to speak with you,” jokes Brandi. However, Bunk only wanted to sing the praises of the Infusion Caregivers.
In his twenties, Bunk, 83, was diagnosed with Meckel’s diverticulum, a bulge in the inner wall of the small intestine, which required many surgeries and hospitalizations over the years. As a result, Bunk was left with only around four feet of small intestine (the usual length is about 20 feet). He now has short bowel syndrome, a condition which makes getting appropriate nutrition challenging. It also leaves him more prone to infections. So, about once a month, Bunk and his devoted wife, Cheryl, make the 45 minute drive from New Underwood for Bunk to get infusion treatments.
Infusion Service’s daily staff consists of nurses, CNAs, a pharmacy, registration and business support staff. Sometimes they can treat up to 70 patients a day. Chronic patients may have neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis or an immune deficiency. They also see patients straight out of the hospital who need, say, weeks of IV antibiotic therapy due to infection. Or they treat patients in need of electrolytes due to acute illness.
“What I’ve learned as I’ve worked with the team, watching them work together is that it’s seamless, and they really love their jobs,” says Kimberly.
“We have a variety of staff, a variety of ages, a variety of years of experience. There’s a lot of laughter and a lot of catching up with people. We do have patients that become like family because they come back month after month, so you hear about their grandkids and their vacations and their illnesses,” adds Brandi.
At his January appointment, Infusion Services Caregivers celebrated Bunk’s birthday, complete with balloons and a cake.
Even though he was a high school counselor in Pine Ridge for 35 years and the owner of two master’s degrees, Bunk still couldn’t have told you what infusion was before he needed it. Yet, after almost six decades of medical care, he knows quite a bit about being a patient, so his opinions about Infusion Services are well-informed.
“It never seems like it’s busy. It’s just a well organized machine with the humanism in it,” Bunk marvels. “To me, good medical care is when you have complete trust. And I really do. From my viewpoint, please don’t change anything.”
Story by Kory Lanphear
Photo by Erika Cianca