“Norman’s Angels” Offer Superhero Service

The staff in the GI lab at Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., offers superhero service to their patients — each person entering the GI lab is made to feel like a welcome guest. The picture (at right) was a gift to Daniel A. Norman, MD, from the GI lab last year; the doctor calls his group “Norman’s Angels.” 

Barton Memorial Hospital is an 85- bed rural hospital. The “GI Lounge” continues to be one of the more lucrative departments in the hospital despite the changing demographics of the area. The staff of two registered nurses and two technicians supports the single gastroenterologist, Dan Norman, and performs more than 2,000 procedures per year. The committed and flexible staff never refuses a patient. Though there is no paid on-call, each member carries a pager and is available to the community and its practitioners 24/7. 

The first thing “guests” notice is just that. They are treated as guests. The core staff possesses a unique chemistry and is committed to the professional, timely, safe and low-stress completion of all procedures. All members share duties, mutual respect, accountability and job pride. 

“Dr. Norman was voted Doctor of the Year by hospital employees,” relates the GI staff. “His heartfelt commitment extends not only to his patients, but also to his staff. He personally thanks each one at day’s end for a job well done. His appreciation extends to barbecues, holiday parties, and commemorative gifts.” 

The multi-faceted, creative staff prides itself on handcrafted gifts and tokens. The local newspaper recognized them for their knitting bees. The GI lab is planning a small craft fair in the future to benefit a local charity. “Tracy Rosa has knitted the longest, and taught the others,” says Susanne Jury, RN. “We have knitted afghans, scarves, gloves, socks, hats, teddy bears, doll clothes, purses and backpacks. Each team member usually has a project going at any given time, and we help each other untangle when needed. We donated items to the Rotary Club this past year for their raffle, and supported our troops overseas with care packages.” 

The needs of the unique, rural community are foremost in the minds of all practitioners. The GI lab staff has also coordinated and implemented a successful satellite liver clinic for Stanford University. The staff manages and schedules two visiting university academic hepatologists and 300 patients seeking hepatitis C virus treatment and/or liver transplants. Free and informative presentations are also offered to practitioners and the community. Annually, the GI lab sponsors a conference focusing on what is new in gastroenterology. The audience for the annual “Gut Conference” includes nurses, techs, primary care physicians, those interested/practicing in hepatology, GI associates and pharmacists. 

“We get funding from pharmaceutical and other GI-associated companies,” says Jury. Topics include a wide variety of statistics, advances and therapies (celiac disease, hepatitis, Barrett’s esophagus, irritable bowel syndrome, reflux, proton pump inhibitors, and inflammatory bowel disease). Continuing education units are offered as well. The conference usually runs three days, and includes a catered dinner featuring a special topic guest speaker.” 

Byrne Medical, Inc., salutes the staff of the gastroenterology unit at Barton Memorial Hospital for their hard work and commitment to exemplary patient care. The team will receive a commemorative plaque in celebration of their EndoNurse All-Star recognition. 

The staff of the gastroenterology unit at Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. from left to right: Tracy Rosa, BSN, Corey McCauley, technician, Susanne Jury, RN, and Don Crowe, technician. 

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