[dillywho]

I know I've said this before, but I have nothing but praise for TVH and its ER. Yes, they do take the life or death cases first. That is why patients are triaged.

Once again, I still have my husband today because of TVH and their entire staff. On Monday the 25th of March, he went in because of profuse sweating and not feeling well. He was examined and the decision made to keep him overnight. Early the next morning, he coded and without their swift actions, he would be dead instead of home now. He spent the next 2 days in ICU on a vent (after Dr. Hurt put in two new stents) in very critical condition, and the next days on the Cardiac Unit on the 4th floor.

I grew up in a medical family and have never seen care any better than what he received the entire time. The ICU is like none I have ever seen. Other hospitals we have been in, ICU visiting hours were restricted to 10 minute visits 4 times a day and limited to family only and/or clergy. Here the only time visitation is not allowed is during shift change which mostly has to do with HIPPA Regulations. No visitation is 6:30-8:30 both a.m. and p.m.. They prefer you leave at ten but is not mandatory.

I also witnessed nurses going above and beyond for their patients even after their shifts had ended. One nurse went so far as to change the bed for one of her patients.....not the linens....the entire bed. The one he had been given was a loaner from the ICU which are bigger and taller beds and he was very short. The one it replaced was broken and had been taken for repair. At the time he came in, the loaner was brought into service in order to get him into a room and out of the ER. She found one that was awaiting assignment and changed that one out for the one he was in and had housekeeping change and ready the loaner for someone else. She was already ready to go home but put her patient very much first.

By the same token, I also witnessed several patients who were very demanding and never satisfied. The first guy in the room with my husband was one of them. He complained incessantly and was very upset because all the rooms in TVH are not private. He refused to share the bathroom with anyone (no biggie when we got in there because hubby wasn't allowed out of bed, anyway). I wanted to tell him that he was in a hospital, not a five-star hotel. He finally checked himself out AMA (against medical advice) and left. Another one kept demanding that his doctor come in so he would know if he could go home and stayed on the nurses to call him. (I'm sure he is the only patient his doctor has, you know.)

I could go on and on, but you can probably get the picture. This hospital and its doctors have saved my husband twice now. I don't know how much more we could ask. His first heart attack, he would never have made it to another hospital in time.

Maybe rather than going after the hospital, all this should take another direction for several 24-hr urgent care centers instead of the limited-hour ones. Sounds like there is definitely a need.