|
A visit to the Emergency
Department is never a fun experience. However, the anxiety can
be relieved by compassionate, competent caregivers.
Lee Memorial Health System
provides four Emergency Departments at our four hospitals. Our
Weigner-Taeni Center for Emergency Services at Cape Coral
Hospital is the busiest ED in the county, with 55,000 visits
each year. The ED at Gulf Coast Medical Center is also the
busiest in the county for stroke and cardiac patients, due to
its convenient location off Daniels Parkway for Lee County
Emergency Medical Services.
In addition, HealthPark
Medical Center houses a specialized Pediatric ED as part of The
Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, and Lee Memorial
Hospital provides the only Level II Trauma Center in Southwest
Florida.
At each of our EDs, we have
highly skilled caregivers and some of the latest technologies to
treat any emergency that comes through our doors. However, we
have learned that it is not always the treatment and equipment
that makes the biggest difference to our patients.
Our caregivers in the EDs,
as well as in every other department throughout our health
system, strive to offer kind, compassionate care to every
patient, every time. We want our patients to know that we will
support them and their family members in every possible way.
Recently, an
e-mail was passed along to me that illustrates this point. The
e-mail was from Betsy Allen, owner of Gaining Results, Inc.
Betsy felt dizzy, nauseous and faint after giving blood, so
someone contacted Lee County EMS.
Betsy felt OK after EMS
arrived, but the same thing happened after she went home. Her
husband called 911, and she was taken to the Lee Memorial
Hospital ED. "They were kind, helpful, compassionate, answered
all my questions and made me feel very safe," she wrote. "Each
person introduced themselves, was concerned, warned me what they
were going to do and why, apologized for cold hands and
responded quickly and professionally to all my requests."
“I have had no
or very little experience with County EMS and hospital care. I
want to applaud both operations and get kudos to the specific
employees” who cared for me, Betsy also wrote.
Even in the fast-paced
world of emergency medicine, our caregivers never forget that
our patients are people first. They are Caring
people...caring for people. And that makes a difference each
and every time.
Peace,
Jim Nathan
President, Lee Memorial Health System
|
