I recently had surgery at St. Josephs. My doctor had told me if vitals and functions were good after surgery, I could go home the same day. The surgery was more complicated than expected and took longer. I'm not exactly sure what time I awoke in recovery, but it was somewhere around noon. I was introduced to the nurse assigned to me, Jennifer Gonzalez. She had an excellent bedside manner, was very efficient and I liked her right away. At some point, Jennifer went on her lunch break and we said goodbye expecting I would be in a room before she got back, although I was still hoping to go home that day. There weren't any beds available in the area my surgeon wanted me sent to, so Jennifer came back, lucky for me.

During the afternoon, my surgeon stopped by as did the resident several times. They were thinking I would be admitted for an overnight stay, but no beds were open. I explained to Jennifer that by coming in at 530 a.m., with surgery around 730 a.m., I thought that would give me time to recover enough to go home the same day and really wanted that to happen. Her response: "Let's get it done!".

Jennifer was nothing short of amazing! She got food delivered to me in Recovery, contacted the resident, verified plans with my surgeon, removed the catheter, arranged for a bladder ultrasound and made sure I could meet all the criteria necessary to go home. It was truly remarkable to watch her work. All the care I received before and after surgery was excellent. I have not seen a nurse take on a challenge to make things happen the way Jennifer did. She made sure, I understood what to do for aftercare and what I should expect.

On top of all her expert medical care, she truly made the afternoon as good as it could be under the circumstances. When I left, I felt like I was leaving a friend. Having had the responsibility of thousands of employees over the course of my career, I can tell you that you have an excellent employee in Jennifer and I hope you will let her know how much her professionalism and care meant to me. Because of her I got a great night sleep that night which put me on a great path to heal. I am profoundly grateful to Jennifer and will not forget her support for me.