"WHC has an excellent reputation for cardiac care, butI wasn't there for cardiac care. The nurses/aides in the post-surgery area ignored my cries when I tried to communicate to them that my arm was numb. I did drift in and out of consciousness but they talked about when they were working, etc (I heard them)instead of reassuring me that I would be ok. The lab didn't label my blood and lost another tube, so both tubes had to be redrawn and I had very few veins left. The pharmacy kept bringing me one of the wrong meds, even when I told the nurses, residents, etc. that the medicine they were bringing was not interchangeable with what I took. They didn't carry three of my meds so they ended up telling my husband to bring my meds from home and I administered them to myself."
"Dr.Finelli (correct spelling)made me feel very comfortable. On my first pre-op visit, he explained the procedure I would have, a laparscopic RouxNY, which he does, as opposed to his boss, Dr. Kirkpatrick, who does the open procedure. I had a meeting with Nana, one of the nurses, before being approved and therefore not much time was spent with me. I should have received some post-op teaching and a diet sheet, which was overlooked. It was mailed to me after I got home. Also, I lost some blood and had 2 units of blood while in the hospital because my hematocrit dropped down to 23. It was 33 by discharge day #6. He didn't order any follow-up bloodwork. I felt very weak when I got home and didn't know if it was normal or if I was bleeding again. I called HIM to request permission to get a hematocrit drawn. He is a concerned doctor, though, in that he gave me his home number in case I had problems. He also took the time to answer my questions. What I don't like is the fact that Dr. Finelli is required to turn his patients over to Dr. Kirkpatrick for follow-up appointments and I have no rapport with him. All literature and all support group sites stress the importance of aftercare. In this regard, Washington Hospital Center has dropped the ball. I attended 3 or 4 pre-op but there will be no more group meetings until 9/28/02, almost 4 months post-op for me. Dr. Finelli said this is under Dr. Kirkpatrick's domain. I would rate Dr. Finelli as an 8 on a scale of 1-10. His bedside manner is good, and I think he is a competent surgeon, but I felt lost in the shuffle pre-op and post-op."
