It’s National Nursing Week in Canada! To celebrate, we wanted to share this story of how nurses and other staff members at a Northern Health hospital helped make one patient’s surgery and hospital stay a bit less lonely during the current crisis.
A patient in the Northwest recently had to have surgery at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace. Even at the best of times, having surgery can be a worry, but because of the pandemic, nobody from her family could go with her to the hospital.
“I had a lot of anxiety about leaving the security of my house,” she says, “and also about the surgery. It’s so unnerving to need surgery without family support.”
Luckily, the nurses, physicians, and other staff members at Mills Memorial helped make her feel cared for during this difficult time.
“I was never left to sit in a chair until they were ready for me,” she says. “The prep nurse was with me every minute until my surgery, the OR staff were very kind, and the nurse on the ward was very nice and seemed to know what I needed before me asking. I never once felt like I was being left alone. I even had a charge nurse come in and introduce herself and check to see if I needed anything.”
“I cannot tell you how well I was treated by everyone at Mills Memorial Hospital,” she adds. “From my surgeon, my pre-op nurse, the technician in nuclear medicine, the anesthetist, the OR staff, and the staff in the ward – these people were all so professional, but also empathetic and caring. I was thoroughly impressed.”
And as a final note, she says the food during her stay was “very good.”
Thank you to the nurses, physicians, and other staff members at Mills Memorial for making this patient’s experience a positive one!
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