My Story
In 2006, my family and I were in Silverdale to visit family that we have in the area. During that time, I had a medical incident that required immediate attention. So, I went to Harrison Medical Center Emergency Department (ED) in Silverdale. That experience made such an impact on me and on my family that I decided to enroll in a nursing program and move here after school to work at this hospital.
Immediately upon arrival at the ED, we were greeted by a man named Robert Ojima, who was the Patient and Family Liaison in that department. Just the fact that an ED would have a Patient and Family Liaison was impressive to me. He made my stay in the ED comfortable, calm, and almost enjoyable, despite the fact that I was in a fairly large amount of pain. We were there for approximately four hours. My family was nervous, I was nervous, and we were unsure what was happening. Mr. Ojima was incredibly helpful to us.
Every five minutes it seemed, he came to check up on us and find out if there was anything he could do to make us more comfortable or answer any questions for us. He brought us drinks, magazines, introduced us to every hospital staff that treated me, and made sure that any questions we had were answered quickly and to our satisfaction and understanding.
I have visited many EDs and hospitals before for various reasons with family and by myself. Never have I received such caring treatment. This man changed the way I looked at the medical community as a whole. He made the hospital change from a scary place to a comfortable and warm, inviting environment. I was touched and will never forget his kindness toward me and my family.
As soon as we returned home to Pittsburgh, I enrolled in a nursing school as quickly as I could. Throughout my schooling—and especially now in my career as an registered nurse I have tried to treat my patients and their families just as Mr. Ojima treated me and my family. He was—and still is—an inspiration to me in how I go about caring for people in need of my assistance. I feel very strongly that his role is profoundly important and that he is an example of patient care to everyone around him. I chose Harrison Medical Center because of him, despite many excellent job offers and large bonuses that were offered to me in Pittsburgh.
Since starting my career here, I have found that same level of devotion to the patient in many of my colleagues and I hope that I can treat people as compassionately as he treated me. Thank you for having such a high standard of patient care in this facility.
Very sincerely,
Justin Vail, RN
