I'm sure that my opinion and assessment of UCSF Medical Center, its doctors, nurses and ancillary staff is going to sound very biased. Well, the reason for that is justified. After all, those people saved my life!
Apparently, at the beginning of my journey into delirium and health crises, there was a discussion about whether I should be taken to the emergency room at Stanford Hospital or UCSF Medical Center. Mandi was instrumental in helping Ron to make the brilliant decision to go to UCSF. I'm sure that Stanford is a perfectly fine facility, but logistically it wouldn't have worked out as well. Mandi is a student at UCSF and talked to some of her professors to get their opinions. Besides that, she lives very close to the hospital and made the case that people could stay with her if they needed to rest or to shower.
I can't say enough about the quality care I received. For all intents and purposes, I went into the hospital like one big question mark. I was tested and observed by teams of doctors from several different specialties: internal medicine, rheumatology, pulmonology, neurology, endocrinology and infectious disease. These teams collaborated with each other until they determined a diagnosis for me and the best way to treat me. Most of the doctors that came to my room, introduced themselves to me with their first names only. Even though I was hallucinating and often delirious, this put me somewhat at ease. I was always treated with dignity and respect even though my behavior was pretty off the wall for the first 5 or 6 days that I was there.
The nursing staff was everything I expected and more. Since I grew up as the daughter of an RN and having worked in a hospital as a teenager, I have always known the difference between someone who works in the healthcare system who does the job out of compassion and a desire to make a difference or someone who is just putting in the hours before they can clock out at the end of their shift. I will have to say that probably 95% of the staff that cared for me during my 17 day stay at UCSF that toured through the emergency room, the transitional care unit and the intensive care unit were compassionate and were truly concerned about me and my family. When I became more aware of what was going on and where I was, I tried to thank each one as they took care of my personal needs, gave me medications, drew my blood, brought my meals and cleaned my room. Each time I said thank you, the person I said it to seemed surprised as if it wasn't something they heard very often. That doesn't seem right.
Once I am able to walk without an assistive device and can walk in there under my own steam, I will go back to UCSF to thank and shake the hands of all those people who got me through the biggest crisis I have ever experienced. Yes, I suppose you can say that I am incredibly biased. I truly hope you never NEED to go there, but if you do, please know that UCSF Medical Center comes with my highest recommendation!
