At Tri-State Memorial Hospital, we are honored to serve the Lewis-Clark community. Receiving words of gratitude from our satisfied patients is always incredibly touching. Thank you Cliff Matousek, Ed.D, for your heartfelt letter to our Tri-State team.

“I am so grateful to the men and women who took care of me during my recent day surgery visit at
Tri-State Memorial Hospital. If you think of it, patients come to surgery knowing a bit about their doctor, but next to nothing about the other people who are part of the process. And yet they must trust them to a very high degree – enough to trust them even while under anesthesia, during which time they are powerless to act in any way. They must trust that those who care for them will “care” for them, as opposed to just “work” on them. I think it is easy for people to lose the care in their work, especially when they are dealing with people they don’t even know.
However, even though I didn’t know them, I could tell that the spirit of care was alive and well within the people assigned to my surgery episode. They showed me this with their words and actions throughout the entire process. They spoke words of assurance, they took actions to relieve my pain, and they communicated well about each part of the process. They were quick to consult with one
another about any and all matters that could help me. Even in just a few moments of observation, it isn’t hard to tell the difference between people who see their vocation as a job and those who see it as a calling. I think my caregivers were the latter. I want them to know that I noticed this, so that they will be encouraged to keep it up for others who come after me. I also asked to know their names so that everyone will know who I am talking about. Dr. Biggers did my surgery, assisted by Mark, Tracey, and Becky, in the OR. Dana did my anesthesia and Jacy was with me in recovery. Cindy started my initial IV and Nathan and Megan were on my postop care.

An institution is only as good as its people, and in my estimation, these people are the good ones, and it shows.”