Residents assemble special pain kits for patients
Author: Jon Adamy
Patients experiencing chronic pain are receiving a special kit of helpful ways to manage it thanks to the generosity of Internal Medicine resident physicians at McLaren Greater Lansing.
The hand-assembled kits include extra-strength Tylenol, a lidocaine patch, scented candles, herbal tea, stretching exercises for low back pain, information on mental health resources in Lansing, and more.
“I noticed that many of my stable patients were being admitted to the hospital with more pain and requesting an increase in their pain medication,” said Klodia Hermez, D.O., McLaren Greater Lansing Internal Medicine resident physician. “This trend coincided with COVID-19. Since depression and chronic pain are closely linked, those kits are targeted to help those patients with pain flares and/or anxiety.”
Dr. Hermez personally paid for half the items in the kits, with her fellow Internal Medicine residents helping to cover the rest of the cost and donating items. “Compassion and kindness don’t cost anything,” said Dr. Hermez. “I believe the thought behind the kits is more important than the kits themselves. This year has been hard on physicians but even harder on patients. I think they deserve us to go above and beyond for them.”
Dr. Hermez credits her program director, Dr. Aaron Bohrer, Dr. Stephanie Baukus, and co-resident Dr. Hope Whitfield for helping make her idea a reality, and she hopes other physicians are inspired by the gesture to go above and beyond for their patients.
“I would like my fellow physicians to know these kits, though simple, can have an impact on how our patients see us,” said Dr. Hermez. “Showing patients that we care and understand how difficult this year has been is likely to foster a closer patient-physician relationship and ultimately may lead to better outcomes.”