I was taken by ambulance to Salem Health due to a sudden loss of breath and tightness in the chest. I arrived at the ER and the staff promptly started doing tests on me. Long story short, it was discovered that I had a collapsed lung and staff promptly began with the placement of a tube. I spent the first two weeks at Salem Health waiting for my lung to heal.

After three weeks, it was decided by my providers that a pleurodesis surgery would be the best option. After several days post-surgery, I was introduced to Alex Gaskey, who became my daytime nurse for three consecutive days. I strongly feel that she was the reason that I was able to recover from surgery as quickly as I did. I am no stranger to being in the hospital and my medical records can prove it. The reason that Alex left such an impression on me are the following:

1. She was incredibly consistent/attentive to my medical care and needs on a day-to-day basis. During my time with Alex, the floor that I was on was incredibly busy and she was consistently johnny-on-the-spot regarding my medical care/needs, if she couldn’t come she always sent a CNA to follow up with me immediately.

2. She was incredibly informative on all things related to my healing process. She explained to me verbally and with hand sketching on the whiteboard what the tube and atrium were providing during my healing and what the doctors would be looking for in order for me to go home. Between my wife and I, we asked a lot of questions and if she could not answer them she got back to us with the answer.

3. I was having hiccup problems and she was very proactive to help me get rid of them. She eagerly and compassionately worked to find a solution for relief.

4. She knew I was eager to get home and she was very proactive to get me moving and walking at least three times a day. This was a requirement of my provider. She was never pushy but committed to helping me heal so I could go home.

5. I had a large list of medications, and part of these were brought in from home and managed by me. She quickly grasped what we were doing the first day and each day after she was very efficient with which medications were being provided by Salem Health and which ones we brought from home. All of the nurses prior had a hard time dispensing/sorting out the medication regimen.

6. On my last day at the hospital, Alex got all of the medical supplies pulled and ready, hours ahead of the provider arriving and without being asked, for my provider to pull the chest tube out with no delay. When the provider came into my room and said she was ready to take my tube out and that she was going to get prepped for that, she looked over and saw all of the medical supplies needed were already set up. The provider turned to me and stated that she loved working with my nurse because “Alex always spoils me”.

7. Overall, I felt 100% confident that Alex was taking care of my medical needs both behind the scenes and while she was actively caring for my needs. If you take a look at my medical record history, you will see that I can speak with some experience on what it takes to be a great nurse. Salem Health is incredibly lucky to have Alex as a Nurse. Alex’s professionalism, knowledge, compassion, diligence, and thoroughness are evident in all that she did for me. She is one of those rare nurses that is clearly evident that she loves what she does and it shows! I’m a perfectionist and I expect diligence and thoroughness, and that is why Alex stood out to me among all of the other RNs.