Editor’s note: The following letter is addressed to Wellington Regional Medical Center CEO Robbin Lee. A copy was sent to the Town-Crier for publication.
Dear Ms. Lee:
Never before I have seen service or been treated as royalty as myself and my mom, Vivian Wiley, have been treated during her recent stay at WRMC.
I have lived in Wellington for almost 30 years and have always used Palms West Hospital when my family needed an emergency service or an outpatient procedure…
My neighbor, Karen Medoff, a case manager at WRMC, always said that her hospital was great and that I should go there instead.
On Saturday, Aug. 20, when I received a call from the assisted living facility in Boynton Beach where my mother currently resides, saying that she had fallen and needed to be transported to a hospital for care, WRMC was requested. As I met the ambulance by the Emergency Room, the EMT said to me, “Do you know that we passed three hospitals to get here?” I responded with a simple “yes.”
From the moment my mom was brought into the ER, she was treated like we were part of the Obama family, and I stated that repeatedly to each person as they entered. In fact, various people were waiting in the doorway to perform their needed task. The nurses and ER doctors were kind and attentive, and took time to explain what was being done and why. Within four hours of being brought in, my mother was waiting to be admitted to her room on the second floor and full lab work, a urine analysis, an X-ray and two CAT scans had been performed. A fractured hip bone was the diagnosis. I was even told to step out of the room to receive a call from the orthopedic surgeon who was scheduling surgery for the next morning and that he would meet with me at 7 a.m.
My mother was greeted and is still being cared for by a wonderful team of nurses and nursing assistants. Her care has been excellent. The hospital is beautifully decorated, and the lobby and hallways look more like a resort than a hospital.
On Sunday morning at 7 a.m., I met with the anesthesiologist, the orthopedist and his PA. The team stayed with us for 45 minutes discussing the pros and cons of surgery. The doctors listened to her heart and determined that a cardiologist consult would be needed prior to surgery. Although I decided that rehab would be the better option, the anesthesiologist came back to visit us that evening “just to check in with us to see that we were OK.” The PA came back the next morning to do the same.
Donna and Sharida worked hard at that point to find a placement for therapy, because my mother had been admitted as observation only. On one of her rounds with a team of residents, Dr. Kanek stopped by and saw me visibly upset with my mother’s progress. She took the time to listen as I told of decisions I was making, listened to my mother’s heartbeat, found major cardiac issues which had never been diagnosed by any of her outside doctors and forwarded her recommendations to others. She also took a great deal of time to talk to me and the residents about how risky surgery would have been. I felt much better after her impromptu visit.
A recommendation to move my mother to a rehab center was given to me by the case manager Donna, and after touring the facility and her recommendation, I feel very secure in my decision.
As I stated previously, from the moment my mother was wheeled into the ER, and all throughout, both my mother and I have been treated like royalty.
I simply would like to say “thank you” to all for a job very well done.
Barbara Cannatella, Wellington
