Editor:
I want it known to community residents whom I do not know why I am so vocal about praising the staff of our Wickenburg Community Hospital (WCH). My experiences have been the exact opposite to last week’s letter writer who suggested in his letter that he will not again visit WCH unless he is bleeding to death.
Well, I have no such qualms and will continue, as necessary, to use WCH services with absolute confidence. Here’s some of the why: The Emergency Room (ER) staff on duty one Sunday night in January 2007 saved my life by quickly diagnosing a ruptured brain aneurysm and having me air-lifted to Barrows Neurological Institute for surgery. I am one of the few to come through such an experience as “normal”. I credit our ER staff for processing me so quickly.
My Family members and I have always received prompt and effective treatment. Unfortunately, I’ve personally tested the ER staff quite a few times with everything from bowel blockage, heart problems, blood in urine, headache (CT showed wasn’t aneurysm related), and broken/twisted toe. Other departments, such as radiology and laboratory, have also provided me with quality care. If I ever required in-house hospital care again, sure hope it is in Wickenburg. The nursing care and the individual rooms exceed any provided to me by other area hospitals.
Wickenburg is fortunate to have a hospital. And that it is growing is very good news (and not just because its very existence is one of the reasons our homes are in demand by newcomers). It is a big plus that WCH is staffed by such a caring and competent staff. I like it too that quality specialist docs who visit here, such as cancer and heart, save me a trip to the valley. Seems I’ve heard somewhere, “Build it and they will come”.
I realize that, like any ER, there are times when the ER experiences an abnormal load of patients, but when that happens I hope we can all realize that those in most need are serviced first. I just don’t want to be one of those “firsts” for a third time.
Sharon Pearson Wickenburg
Originally published in the Wickenburg Sun http://www.wickenburgsun.com/ Letter to the Editor