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First Impression |
In this newsletter and over the next several issues, it will be a privilege to introduce you to our staff. We will be highlighting the person and their job -a virtual stroll through the office to inform you of the professional responsibilities at The Vein Clinic and the caring people who execute them.
Melissa Gardner takes her job seriously.
"I'm very territorial. I feel as though when a patient walks in the door, I'm welcoming them into my living room."
That kind of personal attention is the norm at The Vein Clinic. She is usually the first face you see when you walk in our front door. You won't see a glass-walled partition, but rather a desk to the left of the foyer. Melissa greets you and asks you to sign in. She will collect your insurance information and escort you to the living /waiting room area. She will ask you to fill out a medical form and offer you coffee or water at the beverage center. She's available for any and all questions and understands you might be a little nervous and does her best to assure you we are there to help.
"I love talking to people...I thrive on it really. I've been working here almost nine years now and I enjoy so much meeting the patients. I've made lasting friendships with many of them."
A Raleigh/Wilmington North Carolina native Melissa came to Columbia several years ago to help care for her mother.
"I have experience in the medical field as well as sales and marketing. I worked at Providence Hospital while I went to nursing school and had exposure to caring for stroke patients. When my mother had one it seemed obvious that as an only child I would stay to help her."
She brings that kind, ministering manner into play at The Vein Clinic.
"We have an amazing staff here and we are all committed to making a patient's visit as easy as possible."
So when you walk in the front door of our office, Melissa is there to give you the best first impression of the practice. She's usually at work before everyone else in the morning. She turns on the lights, fluffs the pillows and brews a pot of coffee. She organizes the charts, waters the potted plant outside and is ready to greet and guide the first patient who arrives. She admits it feels like opening her home to guests.
"I have a lot of pride in what I do and I know how I want to be treated at a doctor's office. If I can make a patient feel more comfortable and at ease, then I'm doing my job right."