Letter: Dickinson hospital staff provides quality care, shows compassion

I have always maintained that bigger is not necessarily better, especially in the world of hospitals and nursing care.

I was recently admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital for emergency surgery and I was exceedingly impressed by the quality of care.

I have been a patient in larger medical centers, including St. Mary’s in Rochester, Minn., and the care I received here, at home, far exceeded what I have received at any of those.

One of the night nurses especially impressed me. She was very caring, eager to please, gave good care — she even rubbed my back, which is almost an extinct practice these days. To me, the backrub was always the most soothing, caring practice in the TLC concept of nursing care. I was so proud to know that caring nurses are still incorporating this practice into their care.

Whenever I left my bed, for any reason, all during my stay, I would return to find it straightened and looking very inviting. I have heard so many people, returning from a stay at larger facilities say their bed was never made the entire time of their stay.

As a retired nurse, I probably notice a lot of things others don’t, and what I did notice was that every person who entered my room, no matter what department they represented, seemed to be genuinely interested in my care and well-being.

God bless them all. They have a tough job, and they do it well.

Rosalie Barth, Dickinson

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