I Loved My Job Today

This afternoon, I felt like I really helped someone.  A man came in to the ACS (American Citizen Services) section with his little girl.  I don't know where he was from or what he's doing here, but he had a problem.  It seems that his little girl has been pretty sick for the last few days.  He wanted to know where he could get her some medical care but was running into problems because his medical insurance is from the States.  I went and printed out maps on the nearest American hospital and explained the Canadian walk-in clinic system to him.

You see, there are urgent care clinics all over the place here.  If you're Canadian, you just wait your turn, receive your care, and walk out without having to pay for a thing.  It is amazing actually.  Say what you want about American healthcare or Canadian healthcare--it's a very sensitive subject on both sides of the border--but there is something to be said about being able to get the help you need (and without an appointment) and walking out without owing a single (Canadian) dollar.

Obviously, that wasn't going to work for this man.  He told me he'd been to the children's hospital here in town and that he was going to have to pay something like $900 to get her seen and treated.  I recommended a walk-in clinic.  It's a flat fee of $66 to see a real doctor and get assessed.  I recommended that over driving across the border because after the gas money it'd take to get there and then the wait, etc., I think he'd come out better just paying the $66 up front and getting it taken care of.

The clinics here even have a website; so I was able to give him the name and address and tell him he'd only have to wait for 20 minutes.

As silly as it sounds, I felt like I really helped a fellow American citizen today.  He didn't know what to do or where to go and had a sick child in a foreign country (yes, even though this country isn't THAT foreign) and I was able to help--even if just a little bit.  He was so appreciative.  That is what we (the Embassy) are here for.  That is the whole purpose of an Embassy:  to take care of its citizens who are visiting or residing abroad. And I was that person who helped.  It felt good.  I hope that if I do pass the FS test that I can go into American Citizen Services.  I like feeling like I have the knowledge and ability to help people--my people especially.