We’ve discussed in previous blogs, like “Ready or Not…It can Happen to Anyone!” and “Disaster Recovery Checklist”, the importance of creating a disaster recovery plan. However, we haven’t covered a crisis involving patients. They either make appointments for routine checkups or due to an illness that requires immediate attention. What happens if the patient is far more ill than anticipated and faints in the waiting room? How quickly will your team respond? It’s extremely vital to have a plan in place for times like these.  It’s a good idea to get emergency contact information for your patients in case of a scenario like this, and if one does occur, make sure you keep the phone nearby for a call to the ER if necessary. If the patient appears to be alright, still ensure that the patient has a safe ride home. What’s your protocol for situations like this?

Cosmopolitan Can Help

While your staff is focusing on emergency situations, Cosmopolitan can take care of everything else! Our medical call center team is available to help keep your office running smoothly with our medical answering service, virtual reception, appointment scheduling, and appointment reminders (live or automated). Our services are customizable and available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Give us a call today to get started on creating your customized plan!

Patients set goals for themselves in hopes of improving their lifestyle, with no idea what the medical risks may be. As a doctor and/or nurse, your duty is to provide comfort to patients. When they walk in your doors, chances are they are already nervous and are unsure about how to approach you with their questions and concerns. Help your patients’ turn worrisome, negative doctor’s appointments into simple, routine check-ups! Here are a few tips on keeping the appointment open and comforting:

• During a busy day, full of demands, it can be difficult to slow down and focus, so remember to listen intently.
• It can be tough to bounce between professionals who understand medical terminology and patients who may not. Don’t forget to answer their questions in a language they can decipher.
• Stay calm and smile!

Cosmopolitan is available to help doctors’ offices stay on track so that you can focus on helping your patients rather than answering phones. What kind of goals have you set for 2012? We’d love to hear about them, share with us on Facebook!

We recommend doing a quick clean of these toys once a month. This may sound like overkill, but the process can be simple (depending on how full your toy boxes are of course!). Here are a few ways you can sanitize the toys in your home:

• Stick them in the dishwasher! Make sure the water is set to 120 degrees, as this is the safest temperature for cleaning toys.
• Boil them! If you are dealing with a very small amount of toys (that aren’t electronic) you can just put them in a pot of boiling water.
• Use a little soap and warm water! When dealing with fabric toys, sanitizing these can be as simple as a quick dip in a warm, soapy bath.
• Disinfectant sprays and a cloth! For toys that are electronic, simply spray a rag with a disinfectant and wipe clean.

Clorox also has a lot of great tips on sanitizing toys, you can read them all here.

We take great joy in helping keep you all informed on health and safety. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates and tips!

How Cosmopolitan Can Help!

From medical answering services to appointment scheduling and appointment reminders, we offer everything you need to keep your operation running smoothly during these busy times.  Our operations are entirely based in The United States and are fully HIPAA-compliant. Cosmopolitan Medical can also help with the overflow calls that come in during your busiest times of day. We can answer patient questions about practice information, set up appointments, and provide any other receptionist services you might need. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as your back up support. We promise to keep your patients feeling happy and healthy and your office staff stress-free.

Using Cosmopolitan Medical as your medical answering service, your patients will receive the highest quality of service, making for happy customers and repeat visits. We measure our success by the success of our clients, so call us today and let us show you how we can help you.

Cosmopolitan provides a service, and at the end of the day, the quality of service we provide depends on the quality of our Team.  If we hire and retain the best employees, then we are able to deliver the best service to our clients.  And all of the money that it would cost to hire and train new Team Members, we save, and then are able to reinvest into different areas such as health benefits, a 401k, profit sharing, parties to celebrate special events, and being able to keep costs low for our clients!  “The big things are awesome, but to me, it’s the little things that make the difference,” says Karissa M.   We allow Team Members to wear jeans on Fridays (or when we expect them to be working especially long shifts), we offer two separate break rooms (one with an internet café), as well as satellite TV, game tables, and also do our best to accommodate individual Team Members’ schedules when it comes to conflicts such as school or child care. “I love that there’s fresh coffee in the break room!” says Angie C.  And Team Member Tom S., who has been with us nearly 8 years, says that “I look forward to being able to play some competitive ping pong with my fellow Team Members during the lunch hour every day!”   Even Asaf feels a similar sense of enjoyment from the game table, even though he tends to lose, stating “I know I will be here to see the day that I can beat Tom!”

But it isn’t about the amenities offered, everyone agrees that it’s the people here that make Cosmopolitan one of the Best Places to Work.  “It’s the camaraderie among our Team that really makes me appreciate working here” says Team Member Samantha M.  Rachel I. agrees, explaining that not only do they develop friendships with Team Members, but also with clients, stating “Our industry is interesting and the constant changes and challenges are one of a kind.  I like what we do!”  Being named one of the Best Places To Work means so much to us, and it’s because of all of our Team Members that we are able to maintain such a great balance between great productivity and a fun and friendly work environment.  Thank you all for making Cosmopolitan such a wonderful place to be!

Being a small company, we are doing our best to get everyone involved.  We are dividing our staff into teams, and creating friendly competition to see which team can bring in the most items to be donated!  The team that brings in the most cans, as well as the team that brings in the most toys, will get to wear jeans for an entire week!  So far, we have gathered more than 30 toys and more than 400 cans, and we are still going strong!    Many of the families in our community may not have the means to celebrate the holidays this year, and we know that our donations can make such a huge difference!  “I love having the opportunity to help families and children in need!” said Team Member Samantha M.

The food drive is in full-swing until 2 p.m. today, Friday, December 16^th, so there’s still time to bring in donations and make an even bigger impact!

• Considering the child’s age, interest and skill level.
• Check often to make sure your child’s toys have not been recalled.
• Inspect each for potential hazards and check regularly for any damage.
• Supervise young children in a safe environment when playing with riding toys and any toy that has small parts, magnets, electrical or battery power, cords, or any other potential hazard.
• Make any repairs immediately or throw out damaged toys.
• Teach children to put toys away after playing.

Since 2000 an average of 20 children ages 14 and under has died from a toy-related incident. Cosmopolitan takes safety seriously, for both our employees, and their young children. With the “gift-giving” holidays fast approaching, we wanted to make sure we shared the things to think about when purchasing everything from legos to scooters! Find us on Facebook and Twitter for more tips on toy safety!

Cosmopolitan is active in keeping healthy, as we keep hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes at every station. Our office is open 24 hours every day, so with all our shifts and new Team Members using each station during the work day, we like to guarantee health and sanitation.

There is no easier way to pass germs than by dirty hands. Also, make sure that you wash with warm soapy water rather than cold water, as the heat helps kill any lingering bacteria.

Cosmopolitan has a lot of tricks to stay healthy, stop by our Facebook and Twitter for more!

The holiday season is always a busy time for us at Cosmopolitan. We have been devoted to working holidays, which allows our clients time to spend with their families. In our fast-paced office, we decided to slow down a bit and have our Team think about gratitude. We asked “What are you thankful for?” and received an abundance of responses.

What Are You Thankful For?

• Tom: Thankful for ping pong table, sailors and soldiers in harm’s way.
• Carla: Thankful for love of a child.
• Humberto: Thankful for his wife and two daughters.
• Erin: Thankful for her husband being a good cook.
• Barbara: Thankful for her family and good health.
• Joanna: Thankful for her family.
• Evelyn D: Thankful for her fiancé, getting married this year.
• Paulina: Thankful for her family.
• Araceli: Thankful for her family and friends.
• Brittany C: Thankful for her kids, her job, her family and her life.
• Evelyn R: Thankful for her kids, family and friends.
• Sarai: Thankful for everything!
• Sujeli: Thankful for her family, her job, her health and family’s health.
• Alisha: Thankful for her job, place to live, new husband, and her family.
• Sabrina: Thankful for her family, kids, husband.
• Maricela: Thankful for everything.

We would like to take this time to say thank you to those of you who show us an endless amount of support to make us the company we are today. We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving, and it is our hope that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the holidays with their loved ones.  Join our Team and share with us what you’re thankful for on our Facebook page!

November is “Lung Cancer Awareness Month,” and what better way to help you quit then to inform you of the dangers of smoking! Have you or someone you know tried to quit but can’t quite break the habit? It can be very tough to quit smoking, but you can do it!

Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Over time people become physically dependent on and emotionally addicted to nicotine. The physical dependence causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit. The emotional dependence (addiction) makes it hard to stay away from nicotine after you quit (American Cancer Society.)

Why should you quit?

According to the American Cancer Society, it’s ultimately about your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.  In the United States alone, smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths, and approximately 8.6 million people suffer from smoking related lung and heart disease. Other side effects include heart attacks, strokes and even blindness.

Did you know that Cosmopolitan’s facility is a smoke-free environment? In fact, we do not even hire smokers. Our application and interview process includes the question, “have you had nicotine in the last 6 months?” If the answer is yes, we turn them down diplomatically.We also require a mandatory drug, alcohol and nicotine test. Yes, we take this very seriously. We want happy, healthy employees, and employees that we can count on to feel well and be at work- a sense of well-being shows, even on the phone! It is also keep health insurance premiums affordable.

Our Team’s health and safety is our number one priority at Cosmopolitan. It’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and the first step is to quit smoking. You CAN do it.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter for more health tips!