Mobile Infirmary (COE) Hospital
When I had my gastric bypass surgery on 12/10/12, it was the very first time I had ever even been in the hospital (as a patient :) ) let alone had surgery. Although I don't have any personal experience to compare it to, I've been through many many surgeries with friends, family, etc. I can say with 100% confidence that my overall experience at Mobile Infirmary was remarkable. All of my nurses and LPN's were knowledgable, friendly, attentive, and most importantly - ENCOURAGING. Katrina, Zo, Deloris, and all the others that helped me when I was a little loopy from medication (:) ) were some of the best I've come in contact with.
One special memory that sticks out...I'm the curriculum director and intervention coordinator at a middle school. I work with at-risk, "rough around the edges" 12-15 year old kids. There are plenty of people that would say 'I could never do what you do', however, the truth is that those rough around the edges kids are some of the sweetest, most loving and caring kids you could come in contact with. To say that my babies were worried about me going in for this surgery would be a VAST understatement. After surgery, there were several teachers that were calling (both for themselves and for the kids) to find out how I was doing...I was so tired but knew that they were worried. One of my nurses wa gracious enough to speak to a teacher friend of mine who then put her on speaker phone so all the kids could hear from the nurses mouth that I was ok...she certainly did not have to do so, but by speaking to those kids she gave them the gift of peace of mind, and for that I cannot say thank you enough.
Ok, I am stepping down off my soap box now, hehe
The only problem was that they did not have a bed for me on the bariatric unit for 3 days after the surgery. I had to stay in ICU because my surgeon felt they could care for me better than a general health floor. They provided good care but did not know much about bariatric issues. It was totally different when I got to the bariatric floor. I found I had been too pampered in ICU.