Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / Sept. 1, 1966, edition 1 / Page 5
Part of InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Fonr Retire After 108 Years of Service Mrs. Nannie Sumlin Ever since her arrival at Duke in October, 1949, Mrs. Sumlin has been a medical assembler in Central Supply. It was her job to prepare the sterile trays that would later be used in surgery, in examining rooms, in the emer gency room, and in other areas of the hospital. “She was a very dej)endable, conscientious worker, said Mrs. Gretchen Cheek, her supervisor. “She had been on the job so long that she could assemble the trays without referring to the index card that lists all the items to be placed on each tray . . . and she averaged between 80 and 100 trays a day.” The fact that she knew the articles that needed to go on each tray by heart was a testimony to a mighty good memory, for Mrs. Sumlin had to assemble many dilferent kinds of trays, each with different instruments on them. On the tracheotomy tray there are 65 items, on the phle botomy tray there are 40 and on the emergency suture tray there are 47. In addition to knowing the kind and number of items needed on each tray, the assembler must know the order in which they come, for the doc tors and nurses will look for the items in a certain order. There are almost 200 different instru ments and their parts—tubes, needles, syringes, etc.—that the medical assembler must be famil iar with to perform her job ac curately. Because there are so many instruments to learn, the training for the job is difficult and cannot be accomplished in a short time. t m Lee Williamson, a member of the D.U.M.C. Amateur Radio Club, is shown in the station connecting Dr. Frank Bassett, orthopaedic surgeon, with a doctor in Nicaragua for a consultation. They are participating in Project MED-AID, a program of the Division of International Health, Department of Community Health Sciences. Project Med /lid Begins Operation, Seeks Help of Doctors Project !MED-AID is on the air! By the use of short-wave ama teur radio. Project MED-AID (]\Iedieal Assistance for Isolated Doctors) provides doctors in mis sion hospitals and bush stations throughout the world an oppor tunity to consult with doctors at Duke. Using their radio transmitters and receivers doctors in the bush can now call the ]SIED-AID radio station at Duke every day from 9 ;00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (E^S.T.). Ijocated on the top of the roof of the Gerontology Building, the station began full time operation August 1. For convenience, the transmit ter and receiver in the radio sta tion can be connected to the Duke telephone system, so that the consulting doctor can speak from his office, laboratory, ward, or home to the doctor who is call ing for professional assistance. Tape recording equipment is also available so that messages can be recorded and re-trans- mitted at a later time if it is more convenient to do so. Good radio contacts have al ready been made with Nicara gua, Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, Congo, and Australia. The willingness of doctors at Duke to respond to calls for help in the area of their specialty by answering occasional radio-tele phone requests is now being sought. It is important that every specialty be represented on the list of those willing to cooperate with the project. There is no need to hesitate be cause a fluency in Spanish, French, or Swahili is lacking, for although a foreign language ability is helpful, it is not neces sary. Also, anyone who is a licensed radio amateur or who would like to become one is especially need ed to help run the radio station on weekends. Those who are interested in participating in the project, or visiting the radio station and/or in obtaining further information about Project MED-AID should call ext. 4317, 4048, or 2498. Mrs. Nannie Sumlin Although there are 34 medical assemblers during the day, only four of them are trained to do what ilrs. Sumlin did. “She Mas a valuable person to lose,” said ilrs. Cheek, “But I know that she was looking for ward to her retirement, and I hope she will enjoy it.” Mr. James Thorpe Many know Mr. James Thorpe as a man rarely seen without a smile and a pipe—both working at the same time. “He was always smiling and always had a pleasant word for everybody, ” said ilr. R. X. Cren shaw, business manager of Sur gical P.D.C., where until his re cent retirement Mr. Thor])e was head orderly. When James first joined the Surgical P.D.C. staff in 1949 as an orderly, he carried the mail and ran errands for the doctors on the clinic staff. Gradually other duties were added, and when he retired “James” had a list of responsibilities that tes tify to his abilities, honesty, and dependability. It was Janies’ responsibility to keep a running account of office sui)])lies in the P.D.(’. storeroom and let Mr. Crenshaw know when some item got low. He picked up the laun- (Continued, page 10) INTERCOM - 5 Mr. James Thorpe VOL. 13 NO. 6/1966
InterCom (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 1, 1966, edition 1
5
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75