About Christy Neiffer
I grew up in Anacortes, Washington and moved to Helena, Montana when in middle school. I have been back and forth between Seattle and Montana a couple of times, settling in Helena when I decided to attend Carroll College for BSN program, and completed my Public Health degree. I have three grown children and my husband who have been such a great support through my endeavors.
When did you start at TriageLogic? Why did you decide to work for the company?
I started working with TriageLogic two years ago, when I had developed some health issues from an injury during my hospital nursing job. This company has been a blessing to me, and a great fit for where I found myself two years ago. I am so thankful for the opportunity to continue to care for patients using my nursing knowledge, and the Schmitt/Thompson protocols to guide triage. My background consists of Pediatrics, NICU, Postpartum, and med/surg. I really enjoy these areas of nursing.
What was your experience and the trends you saw throughout the COVID-19 pandemic?
I started to see a substantial increase in call volume towards the middle of March 2020, from patients who were thinking they had been exposed to COVID-19. Some patients had symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, headache, and a high temperature. In the beginning we were told to triage the symptoms, but when patients did not have symptoms and thought they only had been exposed, triaging seemed challenging. With many nurses telling management about triage challenges, management quickly talked with Schmitt/Thompson Medical Directors about protocols for COVID-19.
I remember that in a matter of a few days, protocols were developed for COVID-19. This guided our triage, helping us be more thorough and focused on the specific COVID-19 symptoms recommended by the CDC and Drs. Schmitt and Thompson. TriageLogic also released COVID-19 protocols from Dr. Schmitt and Thompson that practices could have their nurses follow at no cost during this pandemic. I was able to do a better job triaging once the protocols were developed and provided guidance and education to the patient on next steps when they showed signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
Looking back at March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, the call volume had increased, like I mentioned earlier, and TriageLogic hired many nurses to help. They were quickly trained and were able to start to take calls within a couple of weeks of our call volume increase, which helped the current nurses substantially. From February 2020 to March 2020 we took 28.2% more calls. After the new staff were added, and the new protocols, I know I felt like I could triage patients safely.
If you are a registered nurse and interested in working as a remote triage nurse for TriageLogic, you can begin the process by filling out our Nurse Applicant Form.
TriageLogic’s Learning Center is available to everyone as an educational resource. The Learning Center offers brief presentations, industry-related articles and print-ready handouts, all designed with triage nurses and healthcare teams in mind.
