Thank You from Sandy

Aspirus St. Luke's received the following thank you letter from Sandy:

To the St. Luke’s doctors, nurses, hospice care providers and support staff:

My father was cared for at St. Luke’s last fall. On behalf of my entire family, I’d like to thank all of you for taking such wonderful care of him and us, from the time he was admitted to the ICU to his final breaths in hospice care.

His nurses were all incredibly caring and patient with him. They treated him with professionalism, kindness and respect and answered all of our questions and listened to our concerns.

Patty Minogue was beautiful at helping us through my father’s days in the hospital, visiting us often and guiding us during the difficult days leading to my father’s passing. She made sure our needs were met and concerns heard and addressed and informed us of our rights with compassion. She helped us understand the process of my dad’s hospital and hospice care. She is a true asset to your organization.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Dr. Paul Sanford, whose frank and honest evaluation of our father’s condition and prognosis helped us decide to transfer him to hospice care. He understood the difficult decisions we had to face and informed us of our choices and the probable consequences of them. He respected our feelings, our judgments and above all, our knowledge of our father’s wishes. We cannot thank him enough. His wisdom, understanding and handling of the situation eased our inevitable doubts and helped us accept it was time to say goodbye to our dad. St Luke’s is incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Paul Sanford, we are forever grateful to him.

The hospice staff at St. Luke’s was truly remarkable. The nurses that cared for my dad were amazing. It takes an exceptional person to guide family members through the death of a loved one. As painful as it was to watch my father take his last breaths, the gentle, respectful and compassionate way the nurses and staff treated my dad was a beautiful thing to experience. The staff took wonderful care of us, too. They helped us understand the process of death and encouraged us to talk to our dad because he could hear us even though it seemed he couldn’t. They understood how important it was for us and our dad to share those last hours together and for us to tell him we loved him, to let him know we were there with him and most of all, for us to say goodbye. The nurses and staff respected our privacy and wishes but gave us just enough guidance to feel confident we were giving our dad what he needed from us. They even gave us the okay to bring his beloved dog to his room, although ultimately, my dad passed before we could get him there.

My father’s last hours were painful for us, but pain-free for him. The nurses, doctors and staff at St. Luke’s Hospital and Hospice cared for my dad with dignity, kindness and respect. We were treated with compassion and understanding. Thank you to everyone at St. Luke’s; we are truly grateful for all of you.

Sincerely,

Sandy