OPINION —
Dear Mrs. Grill:
On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, I began to have extreme nausea and vomiting. The acid from multiple vomiting episodes burned my esophagus. I was unable to drink fluids or eat. By Friday, Feb. 10, I could barely stand. I contacted Dr. Susan Wright and she wanted me to come to the office immediately. Blood was drawn and a chest X-ray was made. Dr. Wright examined me and contacted Dr. Spiker at EAMC. They wanted me to go to EAMC immediately. Upon arrival at EAMC, portal 3, a security guard with a wheelchair was waiting for me. The guard took me straight to the sixth floor telemetry unit and room 6128. My nurse was waiting for me in the room. She started an IV access, drew labs and applied the telemetry monitor with pulse oximeter. Within 15 minutes Dr. Spiker was at bedside doing a physical assessment. We discussed the plan of care for hyponatremia.
I explained to Dr. Spiker that I was completely independent in daily activities and my wife and I travel extensively. He assured me that with the increase in my sodium levels my strength and ability to walk would return, but this would take a few days.
My vital signs were monitored every two hours. The nurse took the vital signs on the four hour increments and provided a full assessment utilizing her stethoscope and by checking my extremities.
Any time I used the call light, someone came into my room within four minutes. A couple of times the response wasn’t from my nurse or care assistant, but another nurse from the unit. She would explain that my nurse was with another patient and wanted to know if she could help me. The team work among the staff was impressive.
Several of the nursing staff expressed how much they appreciate Dr. Spiker and Dr. Zouhary. They said these doctors respected the nursing staff and included them in their plan of care for patients.
During my stay, Dr. Spiker and Dr. Zouhary visited me frequently. They stayed at my bedside until all my questions were answered and completed their full physical assessments.
I think that I should mention a few staff members who provided care above and beyond. The outstanding nurse was Aly. The outstanding care assistant was Beth. The physical therapist who showed the most compassion and care was Shay. The most impressive employee was Tiffany. She loves her job and she knows that it contributes to patient care. Tiffany was like “a ray of sunshine” when she came into the room because she smiled and had laughter. More important, she did a good job cleaning the room.
I knew that EAMC had received a number of awards in patient care. Now I have experienced for myself the high quality of teamwork and doctor dedicated care at EAMC.
Thank you,
Richard T. Plott