Hiding Patty Chapter 9
| Hiding Patty | |
|---|---|
| Chapter 9 of 33 | |
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| Read this chapter | |
| Time frame | August 2009 |
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Locations
- Dr. York's home
- The Spearfish Lake Cafe
- Driving by the old Spearfish Lake Hospital
- Spearfish Lake Furniture and Appliance
- Dr. Herman Luce's office
Characters
- Dr. Herman Luce
- Mr. Christiansen, Dr. York's first patient
- Betty Warren, Dr. Luce's receptionist, office manager and bookkeeper
Summary
It's the morning after the foundation reception, and Tricia still can't get over the revelations of the night before. She had thought that the business problems of Dr. Luce’s practice were major issues with no easy answers. But during the reception... they had waited until the reporter had left and then revealed that the foundation people had not only recognized the problems but were already taking steps to deal with them. She could concentrate on the medicine and the business - especially the finances - would need relatively minor attention.
After breakfast at the Cafe she drove by the old hospital. She decided that Gene’s idea of a clinic had promise... but as he said it might take a year or even more to have everything in place.
Her next stop was to stop at Spearfish Lake Furniture and Appliance to sign some paperwork and leave a key with Danny so he could drop off the furniture. After some off-the-record conversation that gives her considerable insight to the overall medical situation in Spearfish Lake - plus he invited her to dinner - she leaves the store. After a few more errands are complete she arrives at Dr. Luce's office. Between patients Dr. Luce takes a few minutes to let her know that he'd had a call from Ryan Clark... would he be willing to turn the practice over to her in a week? He should check with her to see if she's willing. Tricia knew this was coming, but maintained appearances, acted surprised, and agreed.
A few minutes later she saw her first patient. Within minutes she diagnosed a uncontrolled Type II diabetic - and the patient records were so minimal to be almost no help. Dr. Luce had totally missed the ball on this one.
She saw a couple of more patients that were a little more routine, and updated their patient histories. Betty relays a message to call Danny at the furniture store. She does, and he passes on a message that Dr. Metarie would like her to stop by his office on her way home. She agrees.
Also Mentioned
- Dr. Gene Metarie
