Susan Easterly has had a lifetime of surgeries. In her 78 years, she’s had 23 procedures done, so she knows what exemplary care looks like – and what it doesn’t. Because of her most recent experience at Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics, Susan is sold on its mission and will be having appropriate future work done there.
“The care became the very best I’d ever been given in any hospital, anywhere,” she says.
A happy accident
Susan had recently undergone a third surgery to repair a dislocated hip at Gundersen La Crosse Hospital, and her post-acute care required a Swing Bed stay – an option she’s no stranger to. A resident of rural Prairie du Chien, she was used to getting that care at a healthcare center in her hometown, but this time, that wasn’t an option.
“They were full, so I opted for Boscobel,” Susan says. “It was just kind of by accident.”
Turns out, it was a happy accident.
Her 10-day stay at GBAHC was “drastically” different from her previous experiences in post-acute care, she says. She’s spent time in a nursing home on four separate occasions, as well as in Swing Bed settings – but none yet in Boscobel. She admits she felt some skepticism about a new provider, but her concerns quickly dissipated.
“What I noticed right off the bat was Boscobel was much more open and detail oriented,” Susan says. “It’s not like it was forced or trying. It was like, this is how we do things every day here.”
No exception to excellence
She got that feeling, she says, upon being greeted by the first person she met at the front desk, and it carried through to all the nurses and CNAs who attended to her round-the-clock care.
“There were no exceptions to your staff’s excellence,” Susan says in a letter written to hospital administrator Theresa Braudt about her experience. “Each of them cared so sincerely that it gave me the confidence to overcome pain, doubts and fears. When I was discharged, I felt I would be safe at home instead of being fearful.”
She says she’s been taken care of before, but never necessarily felt cared about. That changed at GBAHC.
“That was a brand-new experience,” Susan says. “I didn’t realize the difference until it was right there in front of me. They really make you feel like they truly care about you, and consequently, their care is going to be special, and it was. It was extraordinary.”
So extraordinary, in fact, that Susan says she’s doing things today that she could not do five years ago, thanks to the personalized treatments from her Gundersen Boscobel physical therapist, Kim Ross. She’ll also be having two elective procedures – originally scheduled for Gundersen La Crosse – done in Boscobel, which will also be her top choice for any future Swing Bed stays.
“The quality I appreciate most in people is goodness,” Susan says. “So many involved in my care at Gundersen Boscobel totally personify that.”
Is Swing Bed right for you?
Swing Bed is a Medicare-covered, hospital-based program for patients who no longer need inpatient, acute care services but are not ready to go home and still require some rehabilitation and/or nursing services. To learn more about Swing Bed care and if it’s right for you or your loved one, call Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics at (608) 375-4112.