Volunteering Day 11

This past Monday, April 26th 2010, Faraz Baig and I went to the San Jose Clinic and helped out in Medical Records. Before we started sorting the records, however, we waited in the lounge area and talked to one of the older volunteers--Travis. He told us that he graduated from Saint Thomas with a degree in "basket-weaving" (liberal arts), got a job with AT&T and had done some communication managing for the White House when the President made appearances in Houston.

Travis told us that he had retired several years ago and now volunteers full time for the Clinic as the go-to Communication/Tech guy. It was nice to meet a man who had graduated from the University, lived a successful life, and now volunteers full-time to benefit the under privileged. When Sam arrived, we said good-bye to Travis, were assigned to medical records and helped Hermalinda and Jack.

Faraz and I could not stay for long and we left as soon as all the daily records had been sorted. Tomorrow is my last day for volunteering and I look forward to it. I have taken Service Learning courses before and just like those times, I feel that I have become close with the other people that volunteer at the Clinic and that it will feel strange to not go to the Clinic after tomorrow.

I have enjoyed the time with the Clinic and I am sure my colleagues have as well.

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 10:

I did not go volunteer this past Monday April 19th, 2010 at the San Jose Clinic. I managed to fall behind on my work over the weekend and had to reschedule several things in my week-volunteering was one of them. Every day that passes makes it harder for me to keep up my work ethic. I can definitely feel myself slacking off and I need to hold this off for as long as possible.

Last week I may have written the worst lab report in the HISTORY of lab reports and it is all because I am ready to graduate. Less than a few weeks are left now but I MUST stay strong!

I will volunteer tomorrow to make up for my unscheduled absence last week. I look forward to it.

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 9

This past Monday, April 12th 2010, Jon Newsome and I went to the San Jose Clinic. Like always, we checked in with Sam and she sent us off to find work to do. We bumped into Joe and he told us to assemble a desk for IT. IT had recently gotten a new full time guy and they needed a desk so Jon and I started to make it. Rachel Wilhelm joined us and soon the three of us built a decent desk from the parts that we were given.

After we had completed the desk we went to a new section of the clinic that I had never been in and we were told to transfer material from boxes into the file cabinets. We did this and tried to do everything that they had wanted us to do. One of the ladies that worked in this area graduated from St. Thomas in '86 and knew my dad and uncle when she went there. It was a pleasure to see some of the people that my family befriended during their undergraduate lives.

This was our 9th time to volunteer at the clinic and the staff know Jon and I by name. It is a nice feeling, but this week will be very busy and I do not look forward to going to the clinic tomorrow! This is because of all the work that I have managed to not do over my long three day weekend! Oh, the dilemma of being a college student. Hopefully I can pull through this last tough week because then it is smooth sailing until graduation!

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 8

Jon Newsome and I did not volunteer this past Monday, April 4th 2010. That day was the day after Easter and the San Jose Clinic was closed. We would liked to have gone and volunteered, but the week soon snow balled into a very very busy week. In fact, this may have been the busiest week that I have ever had at St. Thomas even though I did not have a single test.


I spent a good amount of my time preparing for the presentations of my Independent Thesis and the Honors Contemporary Problem. In fact, I gave my presentation to Dr. Frohlich three times over the course of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. After each presentation I stream-lined my power point and presentation heavily. I did not have my presentation completely finished until Emily Calasanz heard and critiqued it on Thursday Night.

In a way it was a blessing that the clinic was closed on Monday, so that I could sharpen my power point presentation and script my parts. I have put a great deal of effort into my presentation because I needed to show that I deserve 3 hours of Biology credit for my thesis. I hope that I have done so or otherwise I won't graduate! I feel very relieved that the presentations are over-- I had a calendar count down for the last 10 weeks for the Research Symposium.

Although there is MUCH more work to be done on my thesis, I can finally rest easy for a good solid week. Over the course of this next week end I will "finish the fight" and edit my paper, improving my conclusion and including some of the analogies that I used for my presentation. As I can now rest easy for a bit, I will enjoy my time at the Clinic tomorrow and contribute as much as I can.

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 7

This past Monday, March 29th 2010, Jon Newsome and I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic. We went straight to medical records and helped them arrange their files for the week and, because they have not had time to move the records from the cardboard boxes into nice shelves, Jon and I became very tired from all of the bending over.

After we helped Hermalinda and Jack, we went and saw Joe the IT guy to help "check" the old computers in storage. Essentially we checked the various parts of the machines to make sure that they were all properly working. However, because I am not very tech savvy, this job played more to Jon's skills. It is always nice to learn new things however, and I became very acquainted with the various inner workings of a PC. We were only able to help for a little bit however, because by this time Jon and I had to get back to the school for various projects.


The Clinic is not open tomorrow because of Easter weekend but this is a blessing for me! This week is very busy and I am hoping that it will pass painlessly. I look forward to presenting my independent thesis and I pray it will merit 3 hours of Biology credit from the Biology faculty.

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 6

This past Monday, March 22nd, Jon Newsome and I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic. We met up with Sam, as usual, and she redirected us to help Joe--the IT guy. Apparently, we hadn't done exactly what Joe had in mind the last time we helped him, so we reorganized all of the electrical/computer equipment again.

While we were moving equipment and cords around, Joe received a phone call from his wife. Joe told us that his son is very sick from cancer and that he receives chemo treatment. Joe was very happy when his wife told him that his son would finish his chemo treatments before they had originally planned. This was important to Joe because of the draining effect that it had on his son, his wife, and himself. Joe was so ecstatic when he heard his wife's news that he said to Jon and me, "The beer is on me guys!" Of course there was no beer at the clinic, but Joe was sincerely happy for the news.

The San Jose Clinic serves people who need healthcare, but it is also made up of people with real health problems and this past Monday reminded me that the clinic is powered by strong hearted people. Joe helps out thousands of strangers in the clinic by providing the proper technology, and at the same time he is a strong enough man to battle through his son's illness with his wife at his side.

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 5

I forgot to blog on Sunday March 14th, so I will go ahead and blog now! Anyway, last Monday March 8th, Jon and I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. We were assigned to medical records with Hermalinda and Jack. This was the 5th time Jon and I have volunteered at the clinic and it was the 5th different job that were assigned to do.

To my understanding what we were doing was to locate the files of upcoming appointments so that the doctor, nurse, or dentist would have the proper files and be able to act accordingly. As usual, Jon and I were left to our own devices and we got a hang of the medical records business very easily. It was amazingly repetitive and draining; I know that we were only finding medical records and organizing them in order of the appointment and by day of the week BUT I had no idea it would take so much stamina out of me.

Either way, Jon and I organized the appointments for a week and afterwards we were sufficiently tired that we left around 2:00. Class is starting to pick up so we try to keep it to 2 hours of service but no more.

I did not volunteer this week, nor do I plan to, because it is Spring Break! My next entry will be next week after my service!

Until Next Week,

-pmoney

Volunteering Day 4

--- Hopefully this blog will format properly!!!---

This past Monday, March 1st 2010, Jon Newsome and I went to the San Jose Clinic from 12:30 - 2:30. We met with Jeff and he assigned us to hang some pictures on the walls of the clinic. We went to the Dental portion of the clinic and hung up the certifications of the people that work/volunteer for the Dental Clinic. That was one of the first times we interacted with other people other than the person supervising us, and they were very pleased that we were helping them make the new clinic more like home.

By hanging up the certifications at the Dental portion of the clinic, Jon and I discovered that there are 5 volunteer Dentists, 3 volunteer Hygenists, and 3 Dental Assistants that help the underprivileged at San Jose. I was glad to make the clinic feel more professional and recognizable for the people that put so much time into helping others. We also hung up a very large painting of the Madonna at the entrance to San Jose. Now, every time we go to the clinic we will see a painting that we hung up! This is one of the first things that people will see as they walk into the clinic so I hope the painting is straight!

Tomorrow, Jeff says that we will be hanging up more pictures, certificates, paintings and I look forward to making the clinic seem more hospitable for the people that work there and for the people who need assistance. All in all it is shaping up to be an interesting experience and I may yet become a handyman.

Until Next Week,
-pmoney

Volunteering Day 3

This past Monday, February 22nd 2010, Jon Newsome and I
volunteered at the San Jose Clinic.
We volunteered from 12:30 to about 2:30 and we helped the IT
guy,Joe,organize and rearrange all of the electrical
equipment that was not currently needed by the clinic.
Joe is apparently one of the only, or

perhaps the only, people at San Jose who is IT. Either way,
Jon and I quickly became accustomed to the

different pieces of machinery and wire. We became very
proficient at placing apples with apples and oranges

with oranges.

There was no interaction with many other people, other
than the nice ladies at the front desk as we signed in

and with Sam Sherman who assigned us to Joe, so I can not
say I had any breakthroughs as a person. Even Joe

left Jon and I to our own devices after he was confident that we
could organize properly. So the experience

was mostly one for the necessary reorganization of the
electrical equipment at San Jose. I look forward to

tomorrow because we are volunteering again and have been
helping different people each week at the clinic.

Therefore I am very excited to see what we will be doing
tomorrow.

Until Next Week,

pmoney

Volunteering Day 2

This past Monday, February 15th 2010, Jon Newsome and I
volunteered at the San Jose Clinic at 2615 Fannin.

This is the new location and Jon and I were excited to see the
new facility. We met with Sam again and we were quickly
oriented with the new building. After the orientation Jon and I helped out for a bit with medical records, and we saw the same old ladies that we had helped the previous week. After we had helped them, Jon and I met with Reuben who was unpacking medical supplies into one of the various storage rooms. After a little bit of unpacking and orienting ourselves with the room, Reuben left us to our business and we unpacked plenty of packages. Eventually we were able to see the floor of the storage room and Jon and I congratulated ourselves on the great improvement.

While we were unpacking and breaking down boxes, we found an old UST pamphlet that was made for the clinic. It was nice to see that the clinic had actually kept the pamphlet AND had transferred it to the new location. Jon and I worked in the storage room for the entire time we were there and didnt have much of any interactions with any people. As a matter of fact, when we had decided to leave we couldnt even find Reuben to tell him we would be back in a week! As the clinic orients itself better in the next few weeks, the work we will do will become more and more important for the clinic.

Until Next Week,

pmoney

Volunteering Day 1

This past Monday, February 8th 2010, Jon Newsome and
I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic at 301 Hamilton from 12:30 to
2:30 p.m.. We met with Sam Sherman and we were quickly oriented with all of the services the clinic provides and to whom the services are provided. Sam told us that the clinic provides health care to those who have residences, i.e. they do not serve the homeless. I have previously taken a Service Learning course at UST and for that class I volunteered at The Beacon--a soup kitchen-- so I was disgruntled when I realized that all the people who had taken showers, eaten lunch, or had their clothes washed at The Beacon were not welcome at this clinic. However, after talking to Sam for a few more minutes during the orientation I realized that perhaps there are different niches among the charity institutions, i.e. San Jose helps people who are working but can not afford medical insurance while organizations such as Health Care For The Homeless can help the homeless with the same issues.

After the orientation Jon and I packed a LOT of files into boxes so that they could be shipped to the new location -- 2615 Fannin. The staff seem friendly and responsive and I saw a few doctors who are also volunteers. This coming Monday Jon and I are volunteering again and for every Monday after that at 11:30 - 2:30 p.m. There is no question that every person the clinic serves is in dire need of the assistance and so I look forward to contributing what I can to the organization.

Until Next Week,

pmoney