[Inaudible] (singing) You may be a doctor custodian or secretary you may be,
a RN
but in here we are one said we, uh,
we are one.
Hi, I'm Dana Jay. This is Henry Ford health system news.
And that was Darrius Flowers, a transporter at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
It's my honor to every now and then bring you stories about how our team members
are making a difference through the science and art of care.
Darrius uses his art to brighten patients' days.
[Inaudible].
When Derrius flowers walks in patients like Ruth Perry, perk up.
He just comes in all happy.
And you can just kind of feel that mood kind of move with him into the room.
It's very nice.
(Singing) Life is a highway. I want to ride it all night long.
Darrius has been helping patients get around Henry Ford Hospital in
Detroit for almost two years.
Just about the entire time he's been singing.
People around him tend to join in.
As you go by. You can see every once in a while, people will do their,
everybody gets a little bit into it. You know, it was fun. It makes it fun.
I love when my patients sing with me,
like normally the time when we sing a Stand By Me.
Darrius has trained in the performing arts since he was a kid.
Singing in church choirs and on stages around the world,
moving west briefly in 2020 to pursue a career in music.
When he returned to Detroit, he knew he wanted to return to Henry Ford.
I really feel that God was calling me to, um,
be here for these patients and reach them, you know? Cause I miss,
I miss singing my sing to my patients. It didn't feel like a job.
His go-to songs tend to be gospel or Motown, but he takes requests.
And if he doesn't know a tune, he goes and learns it.
I asked the dispatch, I said, can I go pick that person up?
And I went back and sung them that Elvis song.
He says, music helps him get through tough times.
And he's honored to use his gift to do the same for patients.
As I'm singing, you know,
lifting myself up and I've seen the tears in my patients' eyes.
And then they stopped me and said, thank you so much.
It's just awesome to see how God can use something that I see for me bless
someone else.
Darrius tells me he was especially honored when one of his patients' families
asked him to sing at their funeral. Okay. Let's say in Detroit,
but switch to a different kind of art.
We recently visited the studio of Detroit artist,
Carol Morisseau to see her COVID-19 Memorial Art installation in
progress. The finished piece will hang at Henry Ford Hospital.
Morisseau is using ribbons,
shredded fabric and oil on canvas to create a work of art that honors
people who died of COVID-19 and the people who cared for them.
Over the past few months,
she's visited campus and asked team members and visitors to write the names of
people affected by the pandemic on strips of fabric.
Each ribbon represents a life.
So when people observe the piece,
what I want them to do is recognize and celebrate really these people's
lives. As they look at the piece
and reflect upon that.
Henry Ford has commissioned 10 works of art,
meant to memorialize the sacrifices and contributions our team members have made
throughout the pandemic.
Now let's go up north where Henry Ford is harnessing the power of telemedicine
to make care more convenient for patients.
The newly opened Henry Ford Medical Center Saginaw is making life easier for
mid-Michigan patients referred to Henry Ford.
Now instead of traveling as many as 100 miles,
one way to see a specialist,
they can have consultations in the privacy of an exam room equipped with
advanced telemedicine equipment.
This type of telemedicine consultation allows
for patients to have access to
tertiary quaternary specialists who
offer very unique areas of medical care that might not be available
locally.
This is a win-win situation, uh, for patients, uh,
they have the opportunity to have
continuity of their care locally, uh, and using, uh,
sub-specialists that we do not have available, uh, in this area,
this fosters a better health care for the patient.
And anytime we have better health care for the patient,
it is a win-win situation.
The clinic is staffed by Henry Ford team members who take the patient's vitals
and set up the secure video connection.
The telemedicine technology has a built-in high definition camera and an
otoscope and stethoscope that allows the doctors to look inside patients,
throats, ears, and listen to heart.
And lung sounds finally our feature photo.
Check out the team spirit in Wyandotte.
We're talking about college teams this time,
but we know their Henry Ford team spirit is strong too.
They celebrated the beginning of football season with stadium food games and
music. And of course their favorite team colors.
Don't forget to tell us what you and your squad are up to send us photos and
story ideas to newstips@hfhs.org.
Thanks for watching. And I'll see you around.
[Inaudible].