Two sides of the coin

When we were beginning to think about retiring, one of the things that we identified as important was living somewhere that had good medical care. We knew that aging often brings health challenges, some expected and many as yet unimagined. We wanted to live somewhere that had good care. This helped us identify Asheville as a good place to retire. We knew that Mission Hospital had an excellent reputation for excellent care.

What we didn’t predict was that by the time we moved to Asheville, Mission Hospital would be sold to HCA, a for-profit hospital corporation. Since this purchase in 2019, multiple reports have noted declines in service and a number of departures by physicians, nurses and other staff. HCA has been widely criticized for its “profits over patients” mindset.

Since moving to the area we, too, have personally known individuals who waited for hours and hours in the emergency room, laid on a gurney in the hallway because no rooms were clean and available and various other horror stories that were not just stories but true accounts. We are not fans of HCA and still hope that HCA selling Mission Hospital to a not-for-profit will happen.

But then there is the other side of the coin.

Last week we were faced with the decision on whether to go to the Emergency Room at Mission. My husband was having significant shortness of breath, something he had never experienced before. He knew something was wrong. His body was telling him, “This just isn’t right.”

We were supposed to leave the next day to fly to Minnesota for our grandson’s high school graduation, an event we really wanted to attend. We went to see our Primary Care doctor who did blood work and an EKG on my husband. There was something that just wasn’t right. He wanted Tom to have some additional tests; we could go to the Emergency Room and get those tests done immediately or we could have those tests done at an imaging center and cardiology office, but that might take a week or so to get on their schedule.

We REALLY, REALLY did not want to go to Mission. All the horror stories kept playing before our imaginations. But to make a long story short, we decided to trust our doctor, cancel our trip and to go to the Emergency Room at Mission Hospital. ASAP.

We know that it is not everyone’s experience but our experience was one of rapid and excellent care by everyone on the staff. We are aware that our doctor had called ahead to alert the staff that we were coming. From the intake people at the desk in the Emergency Room to the doctors to the nurses to the technicians to the person who delivered the meals, everyone was excellent. Kind, caring, knowledgeable, professional, efficient.

It turned out my husband had a pulmonary embolism and had we followed through with our original plans and gotten on the plane to Minnesota it is likely it would have been the last flight my husband would have ever made. Yes. His condition—blood clots in his lungs and leg—were that serious and life-threatening.

The procedure done by an excellent surgeon and staff in the Interventional Radiology department removed the clots in his lungs and saved his life. He will most likely be on blood thinner medication for the rest of his life. But that’s okay—because he now has the “rest of his life”.

He (along with me sleeping on a small couch in his room) spent almost 4 days at Mission Hospital. The team of MAHEC staff physicians were excellent and thorough. The nursing care was amazing. The food was actually quite delicious. Yes, of course there were a few bumps in the road and one must get used to hospital time being something you can’t really control, but if we had to rate our experience at Mission Hospital it would be an A+.

Do I like HCA more now??? Absolutely not. The staff deserve better wages and better working conditions. Mission still is understaffed. I hope that HCA will sell to a not-for-profit entity and Mission can return to its previous exceptional state where patients will always matter more than profits

However, this experience did make us realize that there are two sides to a coin and that we need to be careful how we judge by only the horror stories one hears and reads about in the newspaper and on social media. This made us realize that the other side of the coin at Mission Hospital is a staff that gives excellent care and cares deeply about their work and their patients.

Just saying. I hope in all things we can be more careful about judging before we know all sides of a situation. I know it is not everyone’s experience and I sincerely empathize with others who have not had a positive experience at Mission Hospital. But as for us, we can honestly say our experience there was top notch and we credit the dedication and devotion of the staff for that.

We came home immensely grateful. For our doctor who gently but insistently encouraged us to please go to the Emergency Room and to all whom we met in the days that followed. We are grateful. Thank you.