Outstanding Inpatient Care Leads to Peace of Mind [Lori Niklason]

I'm Lori Niklason. I live here in Brookings with my husband Kirk Simet. We have a real estate company that focuses on the development and management of elderly living in multifamily dwelling.

What brought you to Brookings Health System?

I had had a fairly routine surgery on my shoulder. Everything went remarkable. I wasn't having any problems. In fact, I was knocking it out of the park. And literally one week post surgery, I just started to feel awful. Everything from body aches, to fever, to extreme headache, particularly behind my right eye, intense, intense pain, enough so that I needed a trip to the ER.

How was your ER experience?

When they got me to the hospital, they checked vitals and temperature of 104. Just at that point, I started vomiting. Just horrible, horrible pains. And I didn't even want to open my eyes. Sounds were just too much.

Why were you admitted to inpatient care?

Symptoms continued to get worse. There wasn't any definite answers yet. And the further testing that they were going to do was going to take longer, such as a spinal tap, CT, lab work, so on, so forth.

How did the staff treat you?

They were outstanding. Everything from the nursing staff, to the lab techs, to housekeeping and food service. They did more than just their job. When they'd come into the room, there was casual conversation. There was talk about the weather. There was questions, what can we do to make your stay better? They went beyond just their job description.

What was your impression of the infection preventionist and telemedicine visit?

It was amazing. I had heard word on the street about it, just with all the budget cuts and potentially facilities that are out in the middle of nowhere needing doctors. And that this was the new trend. And so I experienced it and it was amazing. Everything from the local Brookings Health System prevented us, to connecting with the specialist in Sioux Falls. They were attentive. There was no problem hearing them or feeling like I wasn't taken good care of. They even allowed my husband and a sister of mine to be in the same room. So I had other ears, other eyes, to take part in it and ask any questions or maybe things that I didn't even think of.

Did you find a diagnosis?

Most people suspected it was probably something related to the surgery, just because I am a normal, really active person. With all the labs that were run and sent off to some of the places because they didn't test in-house, I think they looked for 25 different things based on my symptoms. It remained inconclusive. The good news for me is my symptoms were dissipating. I was starting to feel better. I was headed in the right direction. They did say, we can continue to test. You know, if you're somebody who needs to have an answer, we'll continue, because there's different strains of what they tested for. And my husband and I talked about it in addition to my sister. That wasn't important to me. The importance was, I was improving. I was headed to the life that I had prior to things changing. That was the biggest thing. In addition, I had, I'm fairly confident, four phone numbers to call if indeed things headed in the wrong direction. So I didn't feel like I was on an island without a paddle, so to say.

Why was it important to receive care in Brookings?

Numerous times I was asked if I felt I needed to be transferred anywhere for different care or if I felt like I wasn't getting the answers that I needed. And there was no hesitation. I had no need or even thought of transferring. In fact, there were moments where I felt guilty because of all that was happening and all the tests that were being run, and just the time that was being spent on me. That there was never even any consideration, because I was thinking there's nothing else that can be done. It is what it is. And I'm receiving great service.

What benchmarks did you meet before going home?

I don't remember the facial expression for all those smiley faces. But in my memory, it seems like I needed to be at a three or below to be discharged. I needed to be able to get out of my bed and use the restroom unassisted. I needed to be able to keep down food and have my pain managed with the narcotics that I was taking. And that was really what I was shooting for and where I was at when I left. I wasn't 100% back to normal, but I was darn close.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

My care was the first time I had actually interfaced with a hospitalist. It was so different to have somebody that was in the hospital at all times. And I thought it was so impressive how he would communicate with my primary care doctor, with the infection specialist, with the lab technicians. Everybody charted, so they were all on the same page. And even when his shift changed and the next hospitalist took over, it was just like smooth sailing. I didn't have to feel there was a disconnect. The peace of mind for that was outstanding. And then also just the staff. I mean, even the housekeeping when they came in, they were just so genuine. And the food service, fun, just going out of their way, can I get you anything else? Questions, not just coming in, doing things and leaving. Very good bedside manners.

Why do you recommend Brookings Health System?

So this recent stay in the hospital has given me the reassurance that Brookings has everything you need when it comes to medicine. The telemedicine, the ability to transfer if you need or want to is reassurance that you're in good hands. So, why would you travel out of your city?

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