Most people are anxious to go home after being in the hospital, but that wasn’t the case for Paula Allinson. She cried the day she was discharged from Saline Memorial Hospital after having foot surgery. She had felt so well cared for during her stay that she felt a sense of loss at leaving. “I had all these people here that I felt like loved me,” Paula said. “I felt like they did stuff for me because they genuinely cared.”

For example, when she felt overwhelmed by pain, she remembers feeling someone squeeze her hand and tell her, “I have got you, darling.” It turned out it was Dr. Deb Quade, a hospitalist with Rock Medical. After her foot surgery, Dr. Quade was there to help Paula manage the pain, calm her nerves and rest more easily. 

“Every time I needed something, she was there,” Paula said.

About a week after being discharged following her foot surgery, Paula found herself back in the hospital, this time as a patient in the critical care unit for an unrelated condition. That’s where she learned the connection she had felt with her care team during her previous visit turned out to be real. Megan, a registered nurse on the fourth and fifth floors, had recognized one of Paula’s family members downstairs in the lobby. Once she found out that Paula was in the critical care unit, Megan went up to check on her, not as a nurse, but as a visitor.

“I cried when I saw her because it was like family was there to check on me,” Paula said. “That’s the way they have been with me. That’s the way I have always felt here.”

While in the critical care unit, Paula said she continued to get compassionate care and wanted to recognize Nixon, Clarence, Honey, Caje, Jesse and Cassidy for diligently caring for her every need, right down to finding her a fan when she felt too warm.

“They went out of their way to find things to comfort me,” she said. “No matter how nasty or unappealing the job was, they did it with a smile.”

When she graduated to the fifth floor for the rest of her stay, Paula said she was impressed with how so many different parties worked together seamlessly to make sure she received the highest quality care. She wanted to recognize team members from many different departments:

• EVS/Housekeeping: Asia and Erica were always so pleasant and always checked to see if there was anything else they could do for her after finishing their normal duties keeping the room clean
• Dietary: Terri, Charline and Daylin were always friendly delivering her food, and dietary doubled the protein in her meal to help her wound heal.
• Diagnostic Imaging: Jeff and Dellesha
• Therapy Services: Jess, Mason and Kendra
• Nursing: Megan, Mandi, Maricris, Meredith, Connie, Dayna, Katie and Raya
• Patient Care Techs: Taylor, Carolyn, Ashley, Cassie, Evelyn, Jessica, Laura and Sophie

“Everybody worked together like a well-oiled machine,” Paula said. “I was born here, and other than a couple instances with OB-GYN and neurosurgery, I come here for all my healthcare needs because of the personal care I receive here. It’s like everybody here genuinely cares about me and what happens to me.”