Coordination + Support for Families

My name is Jerry Svennes. I'm from here in Brookings, have lived here most of my life. And I have served many businesses as their Executive Officer as Chief Executive Officer, Finance Officer, positions like that. My mother, who lives here in Brookings, was at a place in town. She stepped backwards, she fell, she fractured her pelvis, which for someone her age is a serious injury. She was taken by ambulance up to the hospital here and was admitted to the ER and then transferred into the hospital. And she spent a few days here before she was moved into a rehab situation.

How did the staff support you?

It happened right before the Fourth of July. So, we're coming into a weekend, and we had the challenge of contact my mother's insurance company, and they really weren't available. And from my perspective, I knew we had to make sure we went through the right steps, because it can be very expensive, otherwise, it might not be covered. So, I'm dealing with those types of things. And I also was concerned about my mother. I knew how she felt her concerned about her view of being in healthcare. And to find that the staff just took that over, it meant it was no time at all. And I wasn't needed at all to plan that hand. And then, working with the discharge planner, and people like that, who helped us to make sure that the insurance company was aware of what's going on, that brought a lot of peace to my mind.And it took several days, it was a lot of work. And they just did that all on their own, kept me involved with what was going on. And now looking back in two months later, all that's worked out very well. And it was under challenging circumstances. There was people on the phone for an hour at a time, trying to get answers on behalf of my mother. And no one ever complained about that. And then when we tried to find a place to go, she needed some rehab for a while. And she is home now doing very well, by the way, making a full recovery. But it was hard to find a place that worked with the insurance company, and the hospital here took care of all that as well. And she went to a wonderful place. And now she misses them too. So, it's been nothing but good.

What did you appreciation most about Brookings Health System?

It's the way it should work. And that's why I told my mother I said, "You know, Mom, this is how it's supposed to work." The one system transfers you to someone else. But time we got there, they had all of her records, they came back. And then she worked here with the physical therapy department here, with occupational therapy, with the Home Health Nurse when she came back home. So, she lives alone. And they came out and that just slowly worked itself away as she got better. It's exactly how it's supposed to work, I could not have been more thankful. Sometimes people that are a little older, don't survive from those things. That's a serious injury. And she is doing so well. And we thank God for that. And we thank the people here as well.

Would you recommend Brookings Health System?

She was so thankful for the privacy, and for how people respected her and the level of care she was given. She missed the people when she was released. And this is from a person that's always been very uncomfortable being in healthcare situations, very kind person, but this was a discomfort for her. And she came out here with...she said, "I would recommend Brookings healthcare system," and she does to everybody. So, from my perspective, both as a patient and as someone that's worked in healthcare, and from my mother's perspective, the answer is the same on all three fronts. I would highly recommend the care that you receive here.