April 22-26 is The Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Week, and at Regional One Health, we celebrate the event as reminder that the individuals seeking healing within the walls of the health care system are the reason we exist.
Everything starts and ends with showing patients compassion and care, said Sheena Freeman and Summer Hardy, who lead Regional One Health’s patient relations department. That means exemplifying premier behaviors, a code of conduct aimed at ensuring excellence in treatment.
Dr. Danielle Tate has made a positive impact on countless Mid-South families like the Armours.
“The moment a patient or visitor enters our facility, their experience begins,” said Freeman. “Each and every employee at Regional One Health either directly or indirectly impacts the patient and family experience. When our physicians, nurses, ancillary and support staff work together to make it happen by exhibiting Premier Behaviors, it is only then that our patients and families have an optimal experience.”
Over the past year, patients have come to Regional One Health to save their life, to give life, to live their best life.
Kanika Armour and Rebecca Clark are grateful patients of OB/GYN Danielle Tate, MD.
Kanika has had all three of her babies under Dr. Tate’s care. “If there were more people like her, not only would healthcare be better, this world would be a better place,” Kanika said. “She’s a beautiful person inside and out.”
Rebecca agrees. “She’s incredible. She does what’s backed by science and education, but she also has the emotional intelligence and soft skills and bedside manner. I can’t put into words how great she is. I wish there were more doctors like her practicing.”
Families helped celebrate the NICU’s 50th anniversary last year by expressing thanks for the excellent care their babies received.
Patients also helped celebrate the NICU’s 50th anniversary in 2018.
“It’s one of the most supported and loved journeys we’ve been through,” Amanda Bass said; for Angela Sims, “You all took away the nervousness I had and made me feel so supported during that difficult time.” Shawna Lasater sums it poignantly: “To me, they’re angels on Earth. I could never thank them enough for what they’ve done – they saved my little boy’s life.”
For Gail and Jeff Duncan, the chance to have healthy twin boys was due to Regional One Health’s Maternal Fetal Medicine team. While Gail’s twins were still in utero, Giancarlo Mari, MD, Mauro Schenone, MD, and Pedro Argoti, MD performed a cutting-edge procedure to laser abnormal connections between the babies. Today, Garrett and Gunner are thriving 4-year-olds.
“I truly felt like they were rooting for us,” Gail said. “They wanted the boys to be healthy, and they wanted to do everything they possibly could to get them there.”
Even patients who came through Regional One Health’s doors under the worst of circumstances encountered positive experiences within.
Dr. Ram Velamuri and others at the Firefighters Burn Center went above and beyond for Samir Alniswan.
Samir Alniswan said Ram Velamuri, MD, William Hickerson, MD, Sandra Fletchall, OTR/L, CHT, MPA, FAOTA, and others at the Firefighters Burn Center went above and beyond after he suffered severe burns. “If I had gone to any other hospital, I don’t think I would have made it. They’ve got amazing doctors,” Samir said. “They did surgery after surgery to save my leg, and went above and beyond even what they’re supposed to do.”
Kevin Newman was rushed to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center on New Year’s Eve after a car pulled out in front of him, causing him to fly over the top of his motorcycle. Kevin credits Jerry Jones, MD for relieving his severe pain without the use of opioids, and his wife Yolanda is grateful for the support and compassion she received.
“Dr. Jones was a lifesaver in terms of pain, and I never felt like I was just a number or a body. We ended up at the right place at the right time – there’s no doubt about it,” Kevin said. Yolanda added, “To have my husband alive was such a blessing, but to see him go from screaming in pain to smiling and making us laugh was just as incredible.”
Kayla Griggs is grateful to Dr. Roberto Levi-D’Ancona not only for his lifesaving care, but his kind, informative approach.
Kayla Griggs suffered a life-threatening post-partum hemorrhage, but feels fortunate that Roberto Levi-D’Ancona, MD, FACOG was there not only to provide expert specialized care, but to talk her through what was happening. “Everybody was great. The nursing staff was great. They all checked in on me, Dr. Levi came in to check on me, the residents who came around did a great job monitoring the pain. We were really pleased with how attentive everybody was.”
Patients also praised Regional One Health providers for simply helping them live better lives.
Douglas Gordon said Betty Joyce Elkins, MSN, FNP-C, is helping him turn his life around by listening to him without judgment and letting him be his own advocate: “She’s willing to put in the work to help,” he said. “I feel that I’m important and they are genuinely concerned about me. They’ve given me faith by taking an interest in my care.”
Freeman and Hardy said Regional One Health wants that to be the case for every employee with every patient every time. “Patients’ experiences are what they leave our organization with and the narrative they share with others in the community, whether positive or negative. We celebrate Patient Experience Week because we are ALL the patient experience,” Hardy said.