C. S. Mott Children's Hospital
- My Heart is a Pump?
- Your First Clinic Visit
- Meet the Team
- About Heart Tests
- Helping Hearts Work Well
- Take a Tour
- For Parents
Meet the Team
When you come to the Heart Center at Mott Children’s Hospital, there are a lot of people around. If you come to the hospital during the day, so the doctor can check on your heart, you will probably spend time in the clinic. If you come to the hospital for heart surgery or other special treatment, you might spend time in the intensive care unit (ICU) or on the 5th floor inpatient unit. Either place you go, you will see that there are so many fun people there to help you.
Many of the people you see when you come to the heart center are part of your "Health Care Team." The Health Care Team is a team of all the people at the Heart Center that will be working together with you to make your heart better. The Health Care Team is kind of like the people on a soccer team. The Doctor is like the captain of the soccer team. She or he talks with the other players (nurses, techs, social workers, Child Life specialists) on the team and then makes the final decision (calls the plays) on what to do. You (the patient) are kind of like the ball in soccer. Everyone on the team works together to get your heart better. Making your heart better is like the goal in soccer. Everybody on the team wants to get the ball in the goal.
Come on, let’s go meet some of the players...
If you come to the outpatient clinic, you'll probably meet people like...
The Crazy Clerks and Clinic Coordinators
They’ll be one of the first people you see when you come in. They sit at the front desk in the waiting rooms and help get you where you need to go. They are pretty funny and can usually make you laugh.
The Oh-So Nice Nurse Practitioners
You have probably seen a nurse when you have been to the doctor before. These nurses do A LOT around here. They work very closely with the doctors and sometimes you might be fooled into thinking they are doctors.
The Doctors
The doctors at the Heart Center work with the rest of your Health Care Team and make decisions about what is the best thing to do for your heart. You might hear people call them other names like resident, fellow or attending. These names just tell how long they have been a doctor. The resident is the newest doctor and the attending has been a doctor for the longest.
The Too Kool ECHO Tech’s
Tech is a short name for Technician. Techs are the ones who use cool-looking machines to see what’s going on with your heart. (Don’t worry! These machines don’t hurt a bit.)
The Helpful Social Workers
Social workers are a very important part of your health care team. They can help you and your parents feel better about what is going on, and they are always here to listen.
The Cheerful Child Life Specialist
Her job is to do cool things with kids. She has a bunch of neat stuff, like toys, arts and crafts, games, books and videos that can help you understand what will go on while you are here.
When you stay overnight in the hospital, you may see some of the same people that you would see in the outpatient clinic. You may see some different people, too, like....
The Unbelievably Happy Unit Host
They are great to have around when you stay in the hospital! Unit hosts help you get comfortable and learn about where things are on the inpatient floor. They can show your parents where to get food, where they can take a shower and where to wash clothes if they need to. They can also show you where other cool stuff like the playroom is.
The Incredible Inpatient Unit Clerks
They’ll be one of the first people you see when you get to the 5th floor where your hospital room is. They sit at a desk called the nurses station and help to get you to where you need to go. They are so nice and love helping people out.
The Nifty Floor Nurses
When you have to spend the night in the hospital, you can get to know these nurses very well. They work so hard to make sure everything is going well for you and that you have everything you need. They are the ones you will call if you need anything.
Creative and Kind Child Life Staff
Their job is to make your stay in the hospital as easy as they can and to do cool things with kids. They have a bunch of neat stuff, like toys, arts and crafts, games, books and videos that can help you understand what will go on while you are here.
