This week's high fives go to our amazing people at Royal Columbian Hospital and Ridge Meadows Hospital.
“You probably know someone who works in some capacity in some hospital but you don’t really know what they do there. That’s because you have to be in some degree of medical distress to find out what they actually do. I spent 13 days on N2, a cardiac floor at Royal Columbian, and I can say with confidence that the health system has changed radically in my lifetime and pretty much all of it for the better. Everyone works in teams now, across age and race and old medical silos, and it’s a vast improvement over 20 or 30 years ago.
Doctors, nurses, techs, food and janitorial staff, without exception, they were friendly, efficient, and all-around great. (And while I didn’t get anybody’s name in the Delta ER, I’m compelled to say that Royal Columbian Hospital nurses Angela and Jennifer and Hyone and Tara and Lucas and Jas and Gavin and Edna and Serena, and doctors Leung and LeMaitre and Amin and Chan and Epstein and Latham and Karim and a bushel of others worked patiently to ensure I remained on the top side of my beloved B.C. soil.) Our health system — in this province, in this country — is terrific.”
“I’ve never been so proud of our health care system from what I witnessed in Royal Columbian Hospital as they brought my father back to life. Everything at play, from the surgeons to the nursing staff, the technological feats to the personal care of the social workers, the medical equipment to the people who deliver it, everything right down to the lukewarm food they serve at dinner: The system is life itself.”
On June 21st, I was diagnosed with a heart issue and admitted to Maple Ridge Hospital. On Monday, June 26th, I was sent to Royal Columbian Hospital’s cath lab for an angiogram and subsequent angioplasty. I was discharged from Ridge Meadows Hospital on Tuesday, June 27th.
To begin, my wife and I have been RN’s since time began working in large critical care centres in Texas, Oregon, Washington, Alberta and BC, and we know a little bit about acute care settings so I’d like to acknowledge the warmth, caring and professional services I received while at Ridge Meadows Hospital.
Special nurses (Katina, Dawn, Tamara and Rose in ER) (Mari, Joanna and again Rose on 3W) made my stay special as they went above and beyond demonstrating their passion for the profession. Each one of these wonderful people will have a special place in my heart for the caring and empathy they demonstrated while I was their patient.
Dr. Sindhar, now my Internist, is outstanding with her expertise, understanding of my core issues and her bedside manner. I am so fortunate to have been sent to Ridge Meadows Hospital and experienced the kindness and the clinical and customer excellence that is contained within your walls.
While I am closer to Abbotsford Regional Hospital, I will go out of my way to return to Ridge Meadows Hospital should I need emergency or other health care services in an acute care setting.
Thank you to all of those I mentioned above and to you for establishing and maintaining a stellar hospital in a rural setting.
