In the summer of 2010 I had a student named Carlo with the Rider University Study Tours program in Los Angeles.  Carlo had the privilege of staying 3 whole weeks in the United States, but this was not the original plan.  He was on tour with us scheduled for just two weeks, but after 5 days of sightseeing the unexpected happened. 

 On the return trip from San Diego with over 350 students, one of my counselors called to tell me that they had a student that was not feeling well, and that I would be making a hospital trip upon their arrival back to campus.  "Great," I thought, "Another 4 hours of my life I'll never get back." 

The Process

Taking students to the hospital was an ordeal!  But, we had a system.

1. Call the insurance company in Italy
2. Ask for someone that spoke English
3. Get transferred 3 times
4. Open a claim for the student
5. Write down the claim number
6. Tell the insurance company the name of the hospital and a phone number to reach you and the hospital.

After completing this process, we would head to the hospital.  The hospital had its own set of steps.

1. Check in
2. Register
3. Wait in the lobby
4. Receive a preliminary evaluation - sometimes after this step we got a prescription and would go back to campus, but not usually.
5. Wait in a 2nd lobby
6. Go to a hospital bed and wait for another doctor
7. Get checked out
8. Get medication
9. Depart for a pharmacy or back to campus depending on the illness

If you went to the hospital first thing on a Tuesday morning the whole process might take two hours.  If you went at 7 p.m. on a Friday night it was easily 6 hours or more. 

On this particular trip Carlo's issue wasn't a fever, sinus infection, broken wrist, or urinary tract infection (I've taken students to the hospital for all of these things), he was having trouble breathing.  Once we got to step 4, preliminary evaluation, we skipped step 5 and went to get an x-ray instead.  Once the doctor reviewed the x-ray he was admitted.  Carlo had a collapsed lung and needed surgery. 

The Next Steps

Carlo went to surgery where a small tube was inserted to re-inflate his lung.  At first, we were under the impression he would be able to go home within a day, but we learned quickly he would be staying for at least 5-6 days.  My staff and I took turns around the clock spending time with Carlo. 

Eventually, he was well enough to be released, but there was a problem.  He couldn't fly home for another 10-14 days.  The altitude pressure from flying put Carlo at risk for having another collapsed lung.  We made arrangements for him to stay on campus for another few weeks so that he could heal and fly home when he was well. 

We were fortunate enough that we had just one more group of students arriving for two weeks to finish out our summer.  He went on all the excursions with the group.  He was able to see all the things that he had missed while he was in the hospital.  I also took him to Venice Beach and Santa Monica because he had missed this with both groups. 

Bedside Manner

When Carlo first went into the hospital I wasn't very good at making small talk.  In fact, during the first day, Carlo and I didn't say much to each other.  I sent another counselor to spend time with him after that, but I got a chance to speak with the counselor about that time.  She had so much to say about Carlo, and I realized that I needed to make an effort to talk to Carlo more, ask him questions about his experience, and truly show an interest. 

Fortunately, Carlo's English was actually pretty amazing.  He told me about his experiences in Italy, what it was like to drive the streets, go to school, and work there.  He told me about his family and how much he has wanted to come to see Los Angeles.  He also let me know he was quitting smoking immediately. 

Carlo was a very thoughtful young man.  During our trip to Venice Beach together, he bought me a bracelet as a thank you for being so nice to him during his stay.  He was so grateful to have met the staff and he had so many wonderful things to say about his experience in the United States.  I thought this was surprising given that he spent so much time in the hospital and had to have surgery. 

Lessons Learned

I learned a lot from Carlo that summer. 

1. Have a plan in the event of an emergency - Had I not had a process for opening a claim with the insurance and the procedure at the hospital, this could have ended in a disastrous way.  I would have hated to have Carlo not be reimbursed for his hospital stay because of a missed claim with the insurance company.  After all, he was on a study holiday.  Know what your plan of action is if someone is injured at your event, who to call, and how to react.
2. Take a genuine interest in your clients - Every customer you serve has a story to tell.  Sometimes you just have to ask.  If you do, you might be surprised on what people will tell you, what you might have in common with a person, and what you can learn about a person or about yourself.
3. Look on the bright side - Carlo's spirit during this entire ordeal was calm.  He had a sweet personality and pleasant demeanor.  This made all the difference for me and the staff.  People wanted to get to know him and go out of their way to do things for him.  As I plan events, I want to take this kind of approach.  I think it gets you further in the long run.

The Final Airport Run

Carlo was finally approved to go home.  There weren't any groups heading to the airport that same day, so I was the one to take him.  We drove an hour or so to LAX.  We reminisced about his time in the states and how he couldn't have wished for a better experience.

For those of you that know me, I'm not one to get emotional, but Carlo was one of the few students I got to know more personally than the rest.  Prior to his hospital stay I couldn't have picked him out of a line up.  After the 3 weeks weeks we spent together, I shed a tear (or two... ok three) as I hugged him and watched him head into the terminal.  I couldn't believe the impact that this student had on me, but it is one I will not forget. 

Update

After writing this post I received a message from Carlo about it.  I had no idea that he would actually read about it after all these years, but I'm glad that we made the same impression on him as he did on us.  Here is what he had to say.