Aleahâs death in the ER. Since then, sheâd learned from the police report that the driverâs name was Greg Fulton. He was from Chicago. Never married, though he was from a large family of five brothers. Heâd lost his job in the steel mills as an engineer a year and a half ago and had fallen headlong into the drug scene.
Knowing only those few facts about Greg amped up Sophieâs empathy.
Sophie believed the hospital should do more to help addicts like Greg. Sophie booked a meeting with Tanya Stewart, the Indian Lake Hospital administrator who headed up four different hospital-related community health projects. Each project had a three-letter acronym and each was impossible to remember without looking at her notes, which exemplified the ineffectiveness of all the hospitalâs outreach programs.
âThanks for seeing me,â Sophie said, standing as Tanya entered the windowless office in a rush of air, her long paisley-print silk jacket trailing behind her. Tanya plopped into her chair, carrot-red hair bouncing around her face like coils.
âWhat can I do for you, Nurse Ma...â
âMattuchi. Sophie Mattuchi.â
Tanya shuffled papers and peered at phone memos. She dug her cell phone out of her jacket pocket and glanced at it, acting as if Sophie were an intrusion in her extraordinarily busy day.
âRight.â She checked her messages again. Then rolled her eyes. âWhen I was in Chicago I had two assistants and they had secretaries.â She shook her head. âThere arenât enough hours in the dayâor enough of me.â She flipped her hand in the air, turning her fingers around like she was whipping cream. âSo what is it?â
Clearly, the woman was overwhelmed. Sophie dove in. âIâm here to talk about the hospitalâs drug addiction program.â
âI feel a criticism coming on here,â Tanya replied with a bit of a nervous squeak to her voice.
âWell, given the problems Indian Lake is having with drugs and now gangs moving in, I feel there is more we can do.â
âMore? The hospital offers seven-day drying-out periods. Thatâs almost double the four days the law gives addicts when theyâre arrested.â
âThe cops think an addict can go straight after four days? Who are they kidding?â
âThatâs the law. We do better.â
Sophie could tell she was going to need to take a different tack. âThat might be true, but in the ER we see an overdose nearly every weekend. The numbers are rising and our programs donât touch the surface. Is there any way that we can hire suitable, licensed professionals to help us?â
Tanya shook her head vigorously. âOur budget is set for the year. Weâre tightening our belts more every day.â
âBut thereâs a need...â Sophie placed her hands on the edge of Tanyaâs desk, imploring. Sophie had wanted to be convincing and she was losing the battle before sheâd drawn a single sword.
Sophie had researched as much as she could about the disease. She remembered a colleague from Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Phillip Jessup, who now worked at Renewal Rehabilitation Center in Chicago and called him up. Not only had they spent several hours discussing the Indian Lake Hospitalâs approach to drug addiction, but Phillip had also sent her research papers, surveys and the materials they used in his program at Renewal. Educating the parents, family, close friends and concerned associates of an addict was key to their recovery. Renewal conducted a âfamily weekâ several times a year for the families of the addiction patients. The interaction between counselors, doctors and patientsâ families was crucial.
âMy hands are tied,â Tanya said.
âBut I want to do something,â Sophie said,hating the whine she heard in her voice.
âI think you should know, Sophie, that this hospital has a very