September 15, 2010
Wednesday

I just thought it was about time someone spoke up for Ketchikan General Hospital staff. And no, I am not employed there or related to anyone who is.

My most recent experience at KGH was just this last weekend, when my son's chest cold progressed into breathing difficulties. The staff there was fabulous: everyone there was caring and efficient. The questions they asked about my son's condition showed their intent to get the full picture in order to treat him. Incidentally, if an allergy is serious, I tell them about it rather than wait for them to go find it in the records. It's called personal responsibility, and it goes a long way in any situation.

This is not the first time I left the hospital appreciating them. I have been there for many reasons: from emergency care to having a baby to standard test procedures, and have always felt like the staff was caring and competent. Like in any business anywhere, I have seen the occasional individual who would be better suited to another job. But there are appropriate ways to address that issue: publicly vilifying the entire institution certainly won't resolve anything.

I want to thank KGH staff for what they do, often for people who can't or won't appreciate that their job is sometime incredibly complicated. In my experience good treatment IS the norm there.

Shari Irizarry
Ketchikan, AK

Received September 10, 2010 - Published September 15, 2010

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