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“Eye” Witness Perfect Vision of Health Care

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 01/15/09 at 11:29 am

You think health care is messed up in the USA? Nobody ever expects a visit to an emergency room to be anything but a nightmare. Most hospitals are unpleasant. (Fill in your own horror stories here.)

Yesterday, a family member needed to see an eye specialist in a hurry. We braced ourselves for the inevitable.I could not be more shocked to report that we had an experience unlike any other in my nearly six decades.

I used to be a health reporter – I know what it takes to deliver the kind of care we experienced at the Moran Eye Center connected with the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. It takes money, leadership, dedication, and, um, vision.

We drove into the underground parking lot (no ticket, no charge) to be greeted by a pleasant attendant, who noticed me looking around when we got out of the car and without being asked, spoke up and indicated where to enter the building.

The first thing I noticed was how clean the place is. (Isn’t it amazing how dingy and stinky most health care facilities are?) The furniture is welcoming and comfortable. The decor is pleasant. Even though we were five minutes past the cutoff time for Triage patients, we were graciously accommodated. Every person we dealt with was so professional, warm, and just plain nice.The intake person apologized that the process would take ten minutes no matter how fast he worked.The technician was gentle and comforting.

We had to wait (who doesn’t expect to wait?) but we waited in a clean, pleasant examining room.Three times people dropped in to ask if we needed or wanted anything (bottled water? soft drink?) and to assure us we were not being forgotten. Dr. Richard Aldous was not only a thorough professional, he was a wonderful teacher. Two medical students observed his work as he quizzed them about what they were seeing.

He was patient with them and meticulous with us. After the students were dismissed, we got a private lesson in the anatomy of the eye. He made sure we understood what was wrong with the patient’s eye and what was to be done. He told us to be sure to check out the view as we left.

It was spectacular. We hadn’t even noticed on the way in – because the facility itself was so beautiful.

It was a perfect experience. It was the ideal. This is everything one could wish for in the delivery of health care. I know it can’t be replicated everywhere – only God has that much money. But now I know: it is POSSIBLE. It exists. It can be done. And the people of the John A. Moran Eye Center are doing it. At least they did yesterday.