Patient Stories Archives for June of 2018

My husband was recently a patient at your hospital for orthopedic surgery.  His surgery and his entire 3-day stay was as good as anyone could possibly hope for.  Each person that took care of him in any way and each person who I had contact with during my many visits was as caring and professional as we wanted and needed them to be.  Never did we encounter a single person who was uncaring or even one who seemed to be too hurried or harried to be helpful and pleasant. 

Thank you for running a wonderful health facility.  We feel that it was absolutely the perfect choice for Paul to have his surgery at SCH and we will highly recommend it to anyone who asks! 

-P.G.

My husband and I came to Rhode Island to visit our daughter and grandchildren.  While here my husband became ill.  My daughter took him to the Express Care and after they took a look at him, they immediately called an ambulance to take him to South County Hospital.

After checking him out, he was admitted.  The nurses who took care of Lou were exceptional.  I cannot say enough to praise them.

I would also like to thank the case manager.  She went beyond to keep me abreast of everything .  My heartfelt gratitude to her.

The ER doctor on the first visit was wonderful!

All in all, we are very happy with his exceptional care.  Even the food service!

I am grateful for your hospital and for helping my husband get better. One day at a time and with God's help he will be better than ever.

Sincerely,

 -K. L.

Being pregnant with twins at age 38 was exciting but a little scary, too! The staff at South County Hospital helped put me at ease during this emotional time. A multiple pregnancy is high risk and being over 35 and with one twin showing signs of being smaller than the other, it helped knowing that I was in good hands.

With both babies in the breach position, Dr. Lisa Rameaka scheduled me for a c-section for the first day of my 37th week, which happened to fall on Halloween, which I was secretly hoping for. When my husband and I checked into the hospital on Halloween morning, the nurses showed us the most adorable pair of pumpkin hats that had been hand-crocheted by someone in the community and donated to the hospital! The warmth of the community and staff is so evident at South County Hospital.

The attention I received in the Hospital while recovering from my c-section was exceptional. Each member of Hospital’s  OBGYN team of physicians on call over the course of my stay were thorough in my care and explained everything clearly as to what I could expect during my recovery.  The nurses cared for me like a mom would care for her own child so that I could focus on the joy of caring for my children for the first time. I felt so comfortable there. When most people can’t wait to leave a Hospital and go home, I wanted to stay!

-Nicole M.

I wasn’t feeling well and went to see urologist Dr. Arnold Sarazen.  As it was, I had a urinary tract infection (UTI). When the infection was concluded, Dr. Sarazen was concerned with my PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level. The PSA level came back higher than it was prior to the infection. Dr. Sarazen thought it would be a good idea to re-check the level and to perform a biopsy to” rule out cancer.” Thank God he made that decision, because it turned out I had prostate cancer. I didn’t have a single symptom, but was diagnosed at Stage 3-C. That diagnosis was pretty devastating. I was 61 years old and had just taken an early retirement two years prior and had planned to have a long and fulfilling future. 

After the diagnosis, I did a huge amount of research and decided that my best course of action was to have surgery—a decision supported by my doctor. My only caveat was that I wanted to be well enough to go to Disney World with my grandchildren three months after surgery. We accomplished that, and six months after surgery, I was in Hawaii with my beautiful wife of 50 years, Betty. Both vacations were even more precious because I know how close I’d come to not being there for my family. Well, here I am 10 years later, cancer free and still enjoying my retirement thanks to Dr. Sarazen’s diligence.

-Roger G.

I was very sick during Christmas 2012 and had to stay at South County Hospital for five days. I wanted to share how impressed I was with the safety of the patients on the floor. Every single nurse and staff member—from the lab tech to the dietary staff—that walked in to my room asked my name and date of birth and looked at my bracelet—three ways to identify they had the right patient!  This was comforting to me.

The other impressive patient-related safety protocol in place at the hospital was the bed alarm system. All patients are required to have the bed alarm on at night, regardless of age, diagnosis or medications. During the night, I could hear the alarm going off next to my room. There was an elderly gentleman in that room who was confused and kept attempting to get out of bed on his own. I could hear the staff running down the hall each and every time the alarm went off. There was no walking down the hall—they ran! And they ran every time. I thought to myself, “now that is dedication. That’s training. That’s staff that care whether their patient is safe.”

Having been a patient at South County Hospital (I am a nursing manager at South County Home Health), it was inspiring to know I am part of a healthcare system that cares so much about the safety of their patients.