To the Editor:

My husband’s recent illness caused me to have several strong reactions regarding medical care at Haywood Regional versus Memorial Mission. Dr. Johnson and Dr. Mina’s care of Bob and me has been exemplary. We have utmost confidence in them and trust them completely. It became necessary for my husband to be transported to Mission because the physician here who performs endoscopy procedures was out of town. Had he been here, the entire procedure would have been done locally. There is a hope that another endoscopy expert will be added locally which would ensure coverage, thus eliminating the need for the Asheville trip. Perhaps our experience will help make this a reality. 

We have lived here 30 years and in that time have seen the medical staff grow along with the expertise and specialties necessary to a good, modern medical facility. Yes, Mission has all those things, but they are so large that the care one receives suffers, in my recent experience. I was with my husband 24/7 for five days and lived through a number of instances I would not care to repeat. No one really talked with us or asked if he was in need of anything. All those functions were carried out by me. They all looked in the computer, recorded vital information and left quickly. They normally asked us to call if we needed anything, but were gone before we could respond. 

When he was transferred from ICU there was a bed available only on the orthopedic floor. When I asked the nurse about his dressing that was soaked and falling off she told me this was an orthopedic floor and she couldn’t change the dressing. I am aware modern medicine has changed dramatically; however, in the five days we were there, I can recall just three of the staff who treated the patient as well as simply recording the medical data and administering the medications.

We are fortunate to have a fine hospital here in Haywood County, along with an excellent outpatient surgical unit. Our highly trained doctors are local. They live here, go to our churches, support local causes and are an integral part of the community. Our recent experience has been with Dr. Johnson and Dr. Mina, and in all cases they have taken the time to answer our questions and address any concerns we may have had. In short, they give compassionate care along with their highly skilled surgical expertise.

I can think of very few instances that would warrant our returning to Mission for care. They are building a huge complex here that will duplicate existing services which seems a shame. In my opinion this plan is simply a need to expand into an even larger enterprise. They are already “big business” enough in Asheville and their quality of patient care shows this.

Please be loyal to our own doctors, nurses and other medical staff. Bigger is not necessarily better. We speak from experience.

Sarah Sherman

Bethel