March 13, 2003
Albany-- Help with your health is just a phone call away. Medical professionals are answering your health questions.
It's called Ask-a-Nurse, and it's Phoebe Putney Hospital's new phone service. It's pretty simple-- just a quick phone call to a registered nurse, who will answer your health questions and make doctor referrals. But this new service to Southwest Georgia has also saved a few lives.
Cindy McCorkle is just one of four registered nurses answering medical questions. "So you said you are having pain in your lower abdomen?" she asks a patient. "We get calls about fevers, nausea, back pain and general medical stuff people forgot to ask the physician when in the office."
Most of the phone calls are not serious--but every once in a while, someone calls who needs immediate help. "They might be too afraid to dial 911, but try Ask-a-Nurse where we can determine if its serious chest pain and get to the appropriate care," says Medical Director Dr. Thomas Graf.
Sometimes the appropriate care is getting someone to the emergency room, and the medical staff is trained to guide people in that direction. "If we don't feel comfortable, that's where we say 911 is open 24 hours a day. It is difficult to determine 100 percent on the phone," said McCorkle.
And the phone is quickly becoming the fastest way to get medical advice in Southwest Georgia. The Ask-a-Nurse line is open 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, from eight am to eight pm.
The phone number is 229-312-NURSE, or 229-312-6877.
posted at 5:10PM by dave.miller@walb.com
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