Care received at PRGH and VGH leaves lasting impression on American visitor

A visitor from the U.S. leaves Canada impressed with the care she received at Powell River General Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital after a summer-time accident in Desolation Sound.

Dear VCH,

I was recently admitted to your emergency room at Vancouver General Hospital this summer via emergency helicopter transport. I injured myself during a fall while boating in Desolation Sound rupturing my spleen and lacerating my liver. My sister, a registered nurse in the United Sates, was concerned about medical care outside of the U.S. and wondered if she should arrange air transport to Seattle where several family members are practicing physicians.

By the time I spoke to her, I had already been seen in the Powell River emergency room where I was brought back to life, transported by an accomplished helicopter evacuation crew and assessed in the VGH emergency room by an extraordinary group of physicians and residents. I had to chuckle at my sister’s well-meaning but somewhat ignorant perception of Canadian health services.

I am writing to say thank you to all of the doctors, nurses and support staff who provided extraordinary professional, competent, and empathetic health care to me at Vancouver Coastal Health over a five-day period. I was a bit out of it during my Powell River emergency room visit and helicopter transport so I do not remember the names of the people (nurses, doctor and emergency evacuation crew) who were calm, empathetic and professional. However, I do recall some of the residents at VGH (Ted, Joe, Anna, Drs. Garraway, Gooch and Evans) and nurses Stephanie, Nina, Isabella, Tom and several others who were fantastic and whose names I now can’t recall.

You have incredible doctors, nurses and staff and although I wish I hadn’t suffered an injury, I am very happy that I had the opportunity to be cared for at your institutions by so many fine professionals. Please pass on my thanks and compliments to all of them.