I was admitted to the Kaiser Ontario Medical Center for treatment of pneumonia. My private room was huge and decorated beautifully. During my treatment, I had a feeding tube placed by Dr. Chan and two very kind nurses. I want you to know that the care I received while I was there for the next ten days was positively beyond excellent! Every nurse, every doctor, every respiratory therapist, physical therapist, lab technician, and every housekeeper I had contact with was so kind and polite and gentle and competent and, at the same time, very professional. I was patiently educated about my stoma and how to do my own feeding. I want you to know that the staff of 4 West is an absolutely outstanding group of individuals who work beautifully as a team. Thank you for your leadership that makes this all happen.

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I wanted to add my two cents as not only a family member of a member, also a member and employee. The care she received during her stay and following is the reason I am proud to work for Kaiser Permanente. It is the reason I am a member and the reason I want not only my family to be a member, but I also want everyone to be a member. Honestly, this experience was above and beyond. My parents have been married almost 50 years and this was the longest they have ever been apart

My Dad who is legally blind and does not drive was not able to go visit her during this time due to the distance from their home. Because of the care she was receiving he felt ok not being with her. My parents have had Kaiser since 1972. As much as they would love to move to the Midwest they will not leave Kaiser Permanente. Both my parents have had medical issues over the years. My Mom is a cancer Survivor because of her care at Kaiser Permanente. She is a double heart valve survivor because of her care at Kaiser Permanente. My Dad has knee replacements and is still going strong with quality of life because of his care at Kaiser Permanente. The small amount of vision he has left is because of the care of his medical team at Kaiser Permanente. They both survived having COVID because of the team of people who helped them at Kaiser Permanente. Maybe they would still have all of this without Kaiser Permanente, but knowing that they are in the hands of Kaiser Permanente has taken so much stress off of not only them but the family.

The bottom line is her care was beyond amazing. Everyone single person she came in contact with including all her care providers, EVS staff, dietary, the employees that took her for procedures and brought her back to her caseworker and discharge planner. They listened to her, they got to know her and they respected her. Every time I was there and they would come in the room they would tell me how special she was and how lucky I was to have her as my Mom. They shared stories of their lives with her and asked about her life and her family. Her cardiologist called her to see how she was, her gastroenterologist came right away to see her. Nurses popped in during their shift to see her even if they were not the ones caring for her that day to see how she was doing. She actually ate the food, which she said was amazing.

Dietary helped her as she has swallowing issues, which is what led her to be there in the first place. She had aspiration pneumonia. During the course of her stay she had two more aspiration episodes and both times there was someone there to witness it. The second one they had to call the Rapid Response Team. She is alive and thriving because of her care team at Kaiser Permanente. She had the Peg tube put in, she was emotional about it and told me this is the beginning of the end. They listened to her and taught her how to use it and helped her to realize it is not the beginning to the end it is the beginning of the rest of her life. Since the peg tube was put in she is getting the proper nutrition and seriously is thriving.

She asked Dr. Dhaliwal to call me with updates; she called me every day to fill me in and include me in the care plan for her. My Mom has an extensive medical history, she was actually familiar with her medical history even though she had not ever seen her before. Dr. Dhaliwal was patient with me and answered all my questions and eased any concerns I may have. Even though my Mom wanted to come home she would not commit to releasing my Mom as she wanted to make sure she was well, that she would not be returning. My Mom said she never felt like they were trying to send her home too soon.

After she got home she got a thank you note from Four West. She called me right away and said, "Can you believe they sent me a thank you note?" So this is what makes me proud to work for Kaiser Permanente, to be a member, to be a family member of a member. Four West at Ontario Medical Center and everyone involved in her care and stay there should be commended for the excellence in care they provided. They are truly amazing. I thank all of them for taking care of one of the most important people in my life and my best friend, my Mom.