My Letter to Providence Hospital

Shanna L. Pyzer

April 28, 2012

To Whom It May Concern:

Hello, I had a scheduled procedure done at Providence, Everett on February 23, 2012. I have very little experience being a patient, basically just childbirth twice. In 2009, I developed an ongoing excruciating headache on the right side of my head and face. After many doctor’s visits, trips to the ER, and imaging appointments I was diagnosed with an Internal Right Carotid Artery Dissection. I had never experienced any kind of health issues for myself before. It was a pretty traumatic time for me.

Two things have spurred me to write this letter.  About a month ago, I received my Explanation of Benefits for this procedure. My share is $3,000.00. I had been thinking of sharing my experience with the hospital and that definitely spurred me on. Then, a couple weeks ago, I was driving to work and heard a spot on the radio station that I listen to. They wanted people to call in and tell what about their job was a blessing to them. One of the callers was an employee of Providence Everett. She just gushed about what a great Christian organization it is and that it is a blessing to be a part of the ministry that Providence does. The radio host had had an experience with Providence when his wife had a heart attack last year. He also gushed about what a great experience he had at Providence and how he felt God’s presence the whole time he and his wife were there.

I caught myself thinking, “That was not at all the experience that I had there.”

I would like to share my experience.

The procedure that I had was a cerebral angiogram. I had met with the doctor in December and we got the procedure scheduled. She wanted to get a definitive answer as to whether or not I have an aneurysm on the left, rear side of my brain. She did not think that the test would show that it was one, she was hoping to rule it out.

I was not at all nervous about the procedure. This had been a long road (summer 2009-Feb 2012). I just wanted to know for sure what was going on in my head. I have been at the hospital with my grandpa and grandma numerous times for them to have cardiac angiograms and angioplasty, as well as open-heart surgeries. I have seen the videos of the arteries and the blockages and spoke with the cardiologist. I basically understood the procedure, I thought.

I received a letter in the mail about when to arrive at the hospital. I wasn’t given any instructions as to whether or not I could eat or drink, or any preparations I should make. Two nights before my procedure I got a call from a very nice nurse. She went over my instructions and reminded me to arrive at 9:30 am and told me exactly where to go. I followed these instructions exactly.

My mom and I arrived and checked in at 9:30 on the scheduled day. The front-office staff was not welcoming, nor very friendly. They were rushed and seemed scattered and were “bickering” a bit back and forth between them. I was asked to wait in the waiting area to be called back. We waited for 10-15 minutes and got called back. When I was taken into my room, the nurse informed me that I was supposed to have been all prepped and ready for the procedure by 9:30, not arrive at 9:30. Taken back a bit, I explained about the letter and the phone call that I had received. She commented that the doctors do not understand how to do the scheduling. She was very short with me. Being the easy-going person that I am, I kind of brushed it off, but made mental notes to myself. Maybe she was having a bad day and was super busy and stressed.

I got undressed and into the gown and bed. My husband showed up a bit after that. I was talking to him about how the morning had gone and little chit chat while the nurse was doing things around the room, getting things set up and all. I was in the middle of a word as she put the stethoscope on my chest and firmly said me to, “BE QUIET, I cannot hear your heartbeat when you are talking.”  She then continued to rattle on about I don’t know what because I was appalled and irritated and was thinking, “then be quiet because you surely can’t hear it while you are talking either!” I looked over at my mom and husband and they were clearly shocked as well.
She finished getting things ready and was in and out of the room.

The doctor came in and talked to me a bit about the procedure. She was very friendly and professional. They way she was talking it seemed like I was going to be going in very soon to have the angiogram done. My mom and husband grabbed all of their stuff and were waiting for me to be taken out of the room, as they were going to the waiting area. They stood for a while and waited and waited. I very nicely, asked the nurse if she knew when I was going to be taken back. She basically snapped at me that I would be taken back when it was time to be taken back. I told her that I was just asking so that my mom and husband could sit down if it was going to be a while and that the doctor made it seem like it would be soon. She then went on and on about how the doctors are not in charge of when the patients get taken and she was displaying some bitterness and resentment toward doctors. This was quite disturbing, as I am a patient, putting my health and potentially my life in this doctor’s hands. It was also quite unprofessional. So my guests sat back down and waited for me to be taken back to the angio suite.

Going into this procedure, I was not anxious about the actual procedure, but I had not considered the other aspects. I was not prepared to have my bikini area shaved, as I was told that the port goes into the upper leg. I was also not prepared to be stripped naked on the narrow table, only to be covered with very narrow sheets to cover the top and bottom parts and an even narrower cloth in my private area. Another expectation that I did have was that I would be given some type of sedative to relax me during the procedure. One of the nurses said that I would be given an “I-don’t-care-what-you-do-to-me” type of medication. I was never offered this. The very nice nurse that took me to the angio suite and stayed at my head the whole time was very helpful. She was very reassuring when I was close to jumping off the table when they were taking my gown off of me.

I got through the procedure, obviously. There was a very nice man named John, I believe he is an RN, but I’m not sure. He was very kind and helpful. He is the lucky one that got to put pressure on the site where the port was put in. We chatted a bit, and I was desperately trying not to think about how naked I was, while a strange man had his hand in my crotch area for 20 plus minutes. He was very professional, though, so that helped. I spoke to him a bit about how I was treated by the other nurse. He was very kind and apologized on her behalf. He was quite aware of how uncomfortable I was feeling.

When he took me back to my room there was another nurse there waiting for me to arrive. John was explaining the site to her and how to check it and what to check for and such. She did not make eye contact, or even look at him for that matter and just mumbled incomprehensibly and was acting like she just wanted him to leave. He and I looked at each other with what I took to be skepticism. He decided to check the site before he left and felt that he needed to apply more pressure, as there were some spots that seemed to be bumpy. I thanked him for staying and taking care of it himself (even though I am a terribly modest person and the thought of having someone touch me “there” was highly unnerving). He was very gracious. He left after he felt that the spot was ok and let the nurse know how often to check it.

I, in all seriousness and legitimacy, do not understand how this lady made it through nursing school. She was so awkward. She could barely look at a person and talk to them. Half of what she said was unintelligible. She seemed nervous and not at all confident. She was an RN, I made sure to look. While giving me the discharge instructions (when I still had to lie flat for 3 more hours), she would read the paper and try to explain it to me and failed miserably. At one point my mom followed another nurse out of my room to ask about the nurse that was caring for me. She was told that she is a traveling nurse. That was definitely understandable.

I know that a lot of thought, and probably prayer went into the designing of the new facilities. It is a beautiful place. It is apparent that details were very important. Attention to details and the “little things” can really make experiences and the lack of this attention can most assuredly break experiences. Honestly, I am an easy-going person. I pride myself as being low-maintenance. I don’t like to ask for help or require people to go out of their way, or be “put out” to do things for me. I am more the “suffer in silence” type. I do not like to complain and whine. I am friendly, as I was with each person that I came in contact with that day at the hospital. I did not feel welcome. I don’t feel that there was any attempt to make me feel at ease, as I was going into a potentially life-threatening procedure. I didn’t feel prepared for the “little” (they were huge to me) details regarding the procedure; like where the port was going, being stripped naked, not having any sedative offered to me. I was not even encouraged to use the restroom before the procedure as I was going to have to lie flat for 5 hours straight. I ended up HAVING to use a bedpan, and that was a whole other experience that I care not to go into.

In the end, I was told that I do, in fact, have a small aneurysm. And I need to be rechecked in a year. This was the extent of my follow-up. As a side note; I have had a couple root canals, and each time, my endodontist called to check up on me the next day.  I was a bit surprised at the lack of follow-up after having a cerebral angiogram.

There is really a lot more that I could write, but I think you have got the picture. I just really wanted to share my story. What would I like to see done? I would LOVE to have my portion of the bill written off. I also want you to be aware of my experience and hopefully it will enable you to make sure that others don’t experience the same in the future. If you have any questions, or clarification on anything, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,


Shanna Pyzer