Disclaimer: I no not own these characters
Chapter 7: The Clinic
"Well, here we are." Hank announced Monday morning as he led Lu into the Glenoak Free Clinic.
As Lu glanced around, she was reminded of years earlier when she had started the South Philly Women's Clinic.
She had put all she had into her clinic, and had fought hard to keep the clinic going.
With the help of her two best friends, Lana Hawkins and Peter Riggs, Lu had struggled to provide quality medical care for women who lived below the poverty level, or who had no insurance.
She had often spent long hours at the clinic, and at the same time, tried to be a mother to her young son. She had often felt torn between needing to be available to her patients and wanting to be there for her young son.
"Dr. Delgado?" Lu was jolted back to the present by the sudden sound of Hank's voice.
"What? I...I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Lu could feel herself blush.
"Is anything wrong? You looked as if you were miles away."
"Uh...no, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking. This is a nice clinic."
"I would sure hate to see it close. Glenoak needs this clinic. Without it, there would be so many people who wouldn't be able to receive the medical care they need because they have no insurance or are on welfare. Many of them are single mother's with no job. Many of them can't go to work because the cost of child care is so high. So if the clinic closes..." Hank's voice trailed off. Lu nodded in understanding...she understood exactly what he was saying.
"When it seemed like we were running out of options, I decided to gave Bob Jackson a call. I guess you could say it was our last resort. He told me about your clinic and how you had merged your clinic with Rittenhouse to form the Women's Health Center. Dr. Delgado, we've got the funding we need, but we need staff to keep it going."
"Well, I'll do what I can." Lu answered.
"Thank you," Hank said gratefully. "I know
two months isn't much time to find appropriate staff, but I'll do the best I can. Do you have any suggestions or ideas that you might want to implement while you're here?" Lu was silent as she continued glancing around the clinic.
"Is that room used for anything?" She asked, pointing at a nearby room that appeared to be empty. Hank shook his head.
"No, not that I know of. Why?"
"That might be a good room to start a chat room."
"Chat room?" Hank questioned. Lu nodded.
"It's something I started at the old clinic, before moving to Rittenhouse. Every morning for an hour I would hold chat room, where women could come in and we would talk about anything and everything. It was a way that we could get to know each other, and learn to trust each other as well."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. If you'd like to run a chat room during the two months that you are here, that would be fine. I'm sure the ladies that come here would enjoy that." Hank stopped at the reception desk, where the receptionist was putting files into the file cabinet.
"Hi Rachel. I'd like you to meet Dr. Luisa Delgado. She will be spending a couple of months here, until a full time doctor can be found. Dr. Delgado, this is Rachel. She pretty much takes care of everything here in the office." Lu smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Rachel."
"Likewise, Dr. Delgado." Rachel answered, her tone cold and uncaring.
"Please, call me Lu."
"Dr. Delgado will be sufficient." Rachel said, then turned and walked away.
"She sure makes a person feel welcome." Lu said.
"Don't mind her, Lu." Hank said. "She isn't pleased with what is going on around here. Just like all the staff here, they are afraid of being out of a job if the clinic closes. Once she realizes that you are here to help, she'll be okay." Lu nodded in understanding. It wasn't the first time she had had to work with someone who was less than pleased to be working with her. She smiled at the thought of her first partner at Rittenhouse, Dr. Dana Stowe. Yes, Dana had not been thrilled at all when she had been asked to merge her practice with Lu's free clinic to form the RWHC.
"Any questions so far?" Hank asked. Lu shook her head.
"Not that I can think of right off hand."
"Great. How do you feel about starting to see patients right now?'
"Fine, I guess. No time like the present."
"I'll be at the hospital this morning, then here this afternoon. If you have any questions, you can ask Rachel. She knows the ins and outs of this place."
"Okay, thanks."
"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Hank said when he noticed the doubtful expression on her face. "Dr. Jackson spoke highly of you, so I know you can do the job here."
"I'll do my best." Lu answered.
"That's all we can ask. I'll see you later." After he had gone, Lu glanced around. Several people were already in the waiting room. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the file folder that was on the top of the patient files that were piled up on the counter.
"LaWanda Ramsey?" A young woman got up at the sound of her name. Lu smiled.
"Hi, Miss Ramsey. I'm Dr. Delgado. Call me Lu." With that, she led the woman into the exam room, beginning her first day at the Glenoak Free Clinic.