Caring for her Paradise neighbors

Dec. 05--Part of Margaret Murphy's job is connecting with people and helping them through the worst times of their lives. With the devastation the Camp Fire left behind, she's been more interconnected with her patients than ever before.

Murphy, Adventist Health Cancer Center administrator, lost her own home in the Camp Fire last month, narrowly escaping before the explosion that destroyed it.

Now, with her own set of circumstances to deal with, she's focusing on helping people cope with two life challenges at once -- cancer treatment patients who suffered losses in the fire.

The morning of Nov. 8, she saw the smoke but decided since it was on the opposite side of Butte Canyon, she would be safe holding off. She started to drive to work -- from Paradise to Marysville -- but at the edge of Oroville, she heard how fast-moving the fire was and turned back. The sky was orange, the air pressure changed and her home had a halo of light around it. She had just enough time to grab her dogs and clothes out of her dryer. Ten minutes after she left, a neighbor called to tell her that the house exploded.

"I don't get shook up easily, but my blood pressure went up," Murphy said. "I'm glad I didn't know how close I was to not getting out."

As soon as she made it through the stop-and-go traffic, it was straight into work mode: she dropped her dogs off at an evacuation center and within 48 hours had set up a command post at the Cancer Center. She said that whether or not the Feather River Hospital in Paradise would survive the fire, it would be inoperable for months, and cancer patients couldn't afford to have any significant break in treatment.

She and other staff mobilized a team of Adventist and Feather River Hospital nurses to access patient records and start a massive phone bank of trying to contact patients and their families -- which was difficult in the immediate aftermath of the fire as everyone scattered. Insurance companies were even in on the effort, waiving the typical time for authorizing the treatments.

Just four days after the start of the fire, 12 patients got started back on their chemotherapy treatments in Marysville. In the month since the start of the Camp Fire, close to 100 Paradise patients have started back on their treatments. Just last Thursday, 106 patients received treatment at the Cancer Center; the normal volume is 50.

"It just shows the tremendous efforts of all the nurses to treat double the patients," Murphy said. "I'm just so proud of the team we've got here. They really pulled through for us."

Dr. Sam Mazj, the medical oncologist for Feather River Hospital (which is a part of the Adventist health system), has been calling patients and working to make sure they are taken care of, Murphy said. One patient even drives three hours out of the way to receive treatment from him -- a show of phenomenal patient loyalty, she said.

The logistics have been tough, she said, in coordinating radiology treatments, medications and other resources, but everyone from the Feather River Hospital and Adventist have pulled together to get through it. Murphy said Adventist is even in the process of hiring many of the former Feather River nurses, so they can continue treating their patients.

"When patients see them, the reunions just bring tears to your eyes," Murphy said.

And it hasn't stopped there: Adventist Foundation board members have stepped up to the plate as well, with John Weiler funding gas cards for patients to get to and from their treatments. One patient was staying in his car, but Adventist staff helped him get into a hotel.

For Murphy, dealing with the loss of her home comes second to helping patients in need. She said if the fire had started just three hours earlier, when everyone was sleeping, the results would have been even more fatal -- she feels fortunate and grateful.

"I really feel very blessed to be able to make the personal difference that we're making," she said. "Just the security that their care will continue, they just feel like it's going to be OK."

And when staff gets stressed about meeting double the needs with limited resources, Murphy reminds them of what really matters: "Do your best with these patients," she tells them. "You're taking care of my neighbors."

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