A local hospital testimonial

The benefits of having a hospital in our community cannot be overstated and should not be overlooked or ever forgotten. The older you get, the more important local doctors and local hospitals become. That is for sure.

This message comes to you from someone who lived in a community without a local hospital (Yates Center in Woodson County) for 12 years. That would be me.

I recently had a knee joint replaced at Holton Community Hospital and everything went great, so I wanted to provide this testimonial.

The visiting orthopedic surgeon was very skilled. The hospital’s surgery department was also very professional and caring - from the anesthesiologist to the nurses and care staff.

After the surgery and a good night’s sleep at the hospital, the hospital food was great - waffles the main entree for breakfast and meatballs and mashed potatoes the main entree for lunch.

The physical therapy staff was very good, too. They had me up out of the hospital bed and walking down the hallway - to my amazement - before I was released.

The post-surgery instructions for survival were very good, too. I survived nicely and you will, too.

It didn’t take very many days, it seemed, before I could drive myself to physical therapy because it was my left knee that was replaced and I drive a pickup with an automatic transmission.

Because physical therapy was offered at HCH, I did not have to miss a lot of work due to long drives to out-of-town physical therapy departments. 

All of my appointments with the orthopedic doctor (before and after surgery) were at HCH, so again I did not miss a lot of work driving to appointments out of town.

I am not a go-to-the-doctor-for-every-ailment type of a person but I did have such a positive experience with my knee replacement that I would not hesitate to go back.

In fact, I am a candidate for ankle replacement surgery on my other leg so I may have that surgery. Before the knee replacement surgery, I wasn’t considering ankle replacement as an option. I won’t be able to have that surgery at HCH, since it is not currently offered, but I will be able to do physical therapy locally again.

I have benefitted from the Holton hospital’s after-hours emergency room services, too, as a matter of fact, to get stitched up a couple of times. 

I never had to drive to Iola (20 miles to the east) or Burlington (25 miles to the north) for emergency room services when we lived at Yates Center, but I do remember worrying about that and praying I would never have to do that.

In conclusion, this community is very fortunate to have HCH and Community HealthCare System, Inc. and Community Hospital Onaga and Holton Direct Care, too. Because of these health care professionals, and top, modern facilities, we can receive the best health care services and we can receive them locally.