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Monday, September 3, 2007
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For her, ER is more than a show EVERYDAY PEOPLE Staff Writer You wouldn't be able to tell that Kim Horn works in the most urgent department at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd.
She has a laid back, relaxed way about her and when she's doing her job as the ward clerk in the emergency department she makes the job look easy.
"I've been doing this for a long time," said Horn. "I know the ropes and what needs to get done. The work doesn't fase me anymore."
Horn, a Baxter resident and a 1980 Brainerd High School graduate, was hired at SJMC in 1983 as a nursing assistant and she transferred to the emergency department in 1989 as the ward clerk. Horn has multiple duties that include answering the telephone, getting the right doctor on the telephone, calling North Air Care for transferring patients, ordering lab work and tests and other secretarial work.
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Kim Horn, ward clerk in the emergency room at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, worked at her desk. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
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"Each day there are different people with different problems," she said. "You need to have eyes and ears in the back of your head because there are always other things going on."
Horn said the emergency department sees between 2,200-2,900 patients a month, which varies based on the time of year, with summer being the busiest. Annually there are about 24,000 patients.
Horn interacts with patients and their families in various ways. She said many people will call looking for advice on a medical condition and she transfers them to the right doctor or triage nurse in charge. She said people will call to find out if they have a family member in the emergency department or want to know a patient's condition.
"When I first started this job I used to write everything a caller said down on paper," said Horn. "Now I don't. People new to this job can get pretty stressed with everything and do write down a lot of notes."
Kim Horn
Age: 45.
Family: Husband, Brad, and an adult daughter, Amber.
Stress reliever: Reading.
Have you ever been in the emergency room: "Yes, about a year ago. I had the flu. I couldn't stop vomiting. They gave me an IV because I was dehydrated."
Strangest thing you've seen in emergency room: "There was this guy who said his ear hurt and he had a big bug come out of his ear."
Favorite dessert: Chocolate.
Favorite scary movie or hospital drama: "'ER.,' I don't like scary movies."
Best work ethic quality: "Respect for the people you work with and for. Everyone has a different circumstance, but everyone puts their pants on one leg on at a time so I believe everyone deserves respect."
Least favorite season: "Winter. I like the first snowfall, but the rest of the season gets old. I don't like to be cold."
Hobbies: Reading, crocheting and stamping.
If you have a suggestion for an Everyday People feature, contact Kathi Nagorski at kathi.nagorski@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5859.
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When patients call in distress, Horn said, "I kind of got desensitized to it. I hate to say it like that, but I don't get as excited as I used to when someone would be having a heart attack. I feel sad for them, but I do what I need to do to help them. I think about the person and say a prayer for them."
Horn also helps the doctors and nurses with a patient when needed. She also talks with patients and their families who are waiting to see a doctor.
Horn said her job requires a lot of multi-tasking. She could be answering the phone one minute and then helping staff transfer a patient to another hospital the next minute. Many times she'll be ordering a lab, while at the same time trying to locate a doctor.
Horn said the two most common occurrences in the emergency department are falls and chest pain.
Having a job in the emergency department also means dealing with patients dying.
"It's a part of life," said Horn. "It's sad, but you have to move on."
Despite the tragedies of the job, Horn likes her job for several reasons. She enjoys doing her part in helping people and she likes the people she works with.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
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