I’ve had the experience recently – twice – of being in a space in two different hospitals, waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery.   The first was last Monday when my sister Cindy had her hiatal hernia repaired.  The second was today.  My wife, Pauline, had knee replacement surgery.

The first one took place at John Muir Medical Center in Concord, CA.  The waiting area was in the main lobby of the hospital, conveniently close to the Gift Shop, Cafeteria and bathrooms.  Smaller sections  for groups were created by they way the chairs and tables were placed.    A monitor was on the wall at one end of the waiting area, advising waiting friends and family as to the status of the surgery – basically Pre Op, In OR, Recovery and Out of Recovery in different colors.    There was a table by the monitor that was manned by someone who could “find out” more detail from the OR.  We were given a patient number that was used to track the patient on the monitor.  We were also handed a paging device just like you get in a restaurant.    It went off when the surgery was over and we were taken to a room where the surgeon met us and explained the surgery, how Cindy was and what to expect.  Cindy went to the ICU immediately.

Today’s experience was much different.    The surgery was at Kaiser and the waiting area was on the second floor and consisted of chairs and tables haphazardly placed in the waiting area.  There was a table manned by a woman who told you what the patient’s assigned number was and wrote it on the back of a card like the one seen above.  She couldn’t explain what anything meant and often let me know that she couldn’t help me with any information.  She hoped that the doctor would call me before Pauline got out of surgery.  If not, there was nothing she could do.  There was also a monitor on the wall that was color coordinated with the information above.  Luckily I got a call a half hour after Pauline got out of surgery.  I was given minimal information about the surgery and about Pauline’s condition.  Pauline’s surgery lasted for about four hours and was in recovery for five hours before they moved her to a room.  I was allowed to visit Pauline in the Recovery room for ten minutes.

In conclusion, the experiences were the same but different.  Each hospital tried their best to make waiting more informative by using technology.  But one had staff that cared and the other had staff that told you – without being asked – that they knew nothing.

Bottom line?  Communication was much better at John Muir than at Kaiser.  Cindy’s support team was able to tell her about her surgery, how it went and what to expect.  When Pauline asked me what the doctor said about her surgery, I couldn’t tell her anything other than how long it took.

Question – should hospitals put a lot of effort into the business of customer service to friends and families of patients?  What does it mean for patient recovery?

If you would like to review Cindy’s journey to now, you can read ALL the posts on this blog.   The previous blog, Cindy’s Status, has been combined with the posts on this site.