Casa De Amigos Nurse Stresses Importance of Education

Dealing with irritable children in the pediatric unit at Casa De Amigos Health Center is no big deal for nurse Carolina Chavez. The difficult thing she says is getting parents to realize their part in the health of their babies.

"Educating our parents on how to take care of their children seems to take up the largest amount of our time here at Casa," she says. "But, it's also the most rewarding for me. Just seeing a parent come back and say, `Well, I've done everything you told me to do and things are so much better. Thanks.'"

At Casa, one of the 11 health centers for the Harris County Hospital District, Chavez and the rest of the staff see an average of 30 pediatric patients a day. Their ailments can range from simple cold symptoms and coughs to more serious cases of ear infection and asthma. A large portion of Casa's patients suffer from asthma.

Chavez is not surprised by the high number of asthma cases, but is disappointed that a lot of parents don't understand the seriousness of the ailment. In her three-and-a-half years at Casa, she's known of several patients who have had to take their children to the emergency center at Ben Taub General Hospital because of their asthma.

"It makes you wonder where all the information you gave them went," she says. "It's not until their child winds up in the hospital for three to four days that the parents realize the severity of asthma."

Despite some near horror stories, Chavez has seen some parents take her information to heart. She also stresses the importance of proper feeding techniques, taking a temperature and avoiding certain activities to make sure children remain healthy.

A true professional, she uses her Spanish-speaking ability to make patients feel comfortable in the exam rooms. On this particular occasion Mrs. Chavez evaluates a seven-month old boy. She first questions the young mother and finds out that the baby started coughing and felt warm overnight. In a mix of English and Spanish, the two women communicate.

Nurse: "Did you check his temperature?"

Parent: "No, but he had a temperature."

Nurse: "How high did it get?"

Parent: "I don't know but his head and his stomach were very warm."

Chavez says this exchange is typical of a lot of parents. Some mothers simply assume their child is sick by the way they feel and proceed to administer over-the-counter medication. What could happen is that the child could get really sick. Her recommendation, when in doubt, is to visit the center or consult a doctor.

She credits her patience and her ability to juggle many tasks at once with her success. Chavez has been a nurse since 1981 after getting her certification from San Jacinto Junior College. She worked several years in geriatric care before starting in 1987 with the Hospital District at Ripley Health Center. She worked her way there through the adult specialty areas of obstetrics, gynecology and minor surgery before entering her true calling of pediatrics. She credits a neighborhood physician and her grandmother, who was a midwife, with inspiring her to consider a medical profession.

"When I started with pediatrics, I guess that's when I knew I really fit in," she says.

Now that her three sons are grown, she plans to go back to school to work further on her nursing degree.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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