Patient Stories
CategoryConnect with grateful patients as they share their experiences and recognize the exceptional employees who make a difference every day.
Dr. Dan Via Returns to Work
Life can change in the blink of an eye. Small acts of kindness can mean the most. It takes a village… (L-R) Angela Morris (left) and Jennifer Sears (right) greet Dr. Dan Via upon his return to work at Sentara Pediatric Physicians.Pick the cliché and it is likely that Dr. Dan Via has a new appreciation for how deeply those commonly used phrases can be felt. The Williamsburg pediatrician was enjoying a vacation with his family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina when the very active 52 year-old caught a wave and fell off his boogie board head first into shallow water. His spinal cord injury left him unable to move. He was saved by some strangers on the beach who pulled him from the water. He was able to breathe on his own and he never lost consciousness, so he was able to speak and answer questions. But Via knew he could also not feel anything or move any parts of his body. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Local EMS responded and Via was flown by Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance from a fire station in North Carolina to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for trauma care. Surgeons determined that he had disrupted ligaments and ruptured a disc between C3 and C4 of his spine. He had surgery to fuse his spine at C3 & 4, but the severe nature of his injury and bruising of his spinal cord left physicians unsure about Via’s prognosis. Via recalls hearing doctors talk about, “maybe being able to feed himself or possibly learn to walk again.” That is a tough reality for someone with a thriving pediatric medical practice, a wife and teenage children, and an active lifestyle that included cycling and teaching music.
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Inspiring Kindness Helps Others in Need
When you are elderly or sick, worrying with fixing meals can sometimes be almost too much to handle. Worrying that your loved ones aren’t getting nutritious meals daily can also be very stressful. Luckily, Mobile Meals of Norfolk helps to calm this stress by preparing and delivering meals daily to those in need. Mobile Meals … Continue Reading
Undying and Resilient to Help Others
Words to describe a cancer community educator When you first meet Angela, you feel like you’ve met an old friend. This quality comes in handy in her work as a community educator with the Sentara Cancer Network. Since 2005, Angela has been serving the community as a cancer community educator. Early in role, she committed … Continue Reading
Take Heart: One man’s story
Tex Turner had been a fit man throughout his entire military career, maintaining his 185 pound frame with regular exercise and a balanced diet. Even as a retired Army Col., Turner remained fit and active for decades. Various life changes led Turner to “let himself go” as he described it, and his weight rose to … Continue Reading
Two Sentara Nurses Travel Overseas to Help and Heal
The Impact of Mission Work in Thailand and Africa Teddi Sipe and Maggie Waite have two things in common. They both work in the Burn Trauma/ICU at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and they both love mission work. Maggie began her mission service in high school when she volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. Since then she … Continue Reading
Delivering Miracles for 20 Years and Counting…
This November marked the 20th anniversary of Sentara Leigh Family Maternity Suite. The Family Maternity Suite opened on November 5, 1991 and has been delivering miracles every day since. Throughout the years thousands of babies have been born in this unit with the help from the amazing staff who’ve contributed to the unit’s success. Recently Ashley … Continue Reading
Making a Difference in the Lives of our Patients
Sentara Commitments: Always treat you with dignity, respect and compassion Ed Tomon was a patient at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Hospital where he had surgery (thoracotomy)and then was an inpatient first in the ICU and then on a medical/surgical unit. Following his experience as a patient, he was compelled to send a letter to express his gratitude for the care he received. In his own words, this is how Tomon talks about his experience: Ed Tomon, patient at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, sends a letter of thanks for his patient care.
Honoring Veterans
On Thanksgiving Day we pause to spend time with family and friends. And, it is also a day to honor the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’d like to share a special story about George Drumwright, a 90-year old resident of Sentara Village-Virginia Beach. George is a veteran of the U.S. Navy … Continue Reading
Inaugural Patient and Member Choice Awards
Imagine trying to achieve the goal of being committed to well-being and creating an extraordinary healthcare experience every patient, every day, every time . . . it’s a tall order to fill, but 41 teams throughout Sentara Healthcare have done just that. These divisions were recently honored with the first-ever Sentara Patient and Member Choice Awards at the Sentara semi-annual leadership meeting.
Approximately three years ago, Sentara adopted a set of core values that are patient-centered and focus mainly on customer satisfaction . . . hence the Sentara Commitments became a part of our organization’s culture. The Sentara Commitments provide direction for employees as they perform clinical and non-clinical duties and inform customers and members about our commitment to well-being and creating an extraordinary healthcare experience.
When the Sentara Commitments were rolled, out an implementation plan was also created that established divisional goals for achievement in customer service scores. The customer service awards were divided into Platinum and Gold levels.
Platinum level- the highest award that is presented to departments scoring at or above the 90th percentile on the overall rating of care or service question.
Gold level – is designated for departments scoring between the 75th and 89th percentiles.
“It is most fitting that we reward these teams for reaching such high marks in customer satisfaction,” said David Woolwine, vice president for Learning and Organizational Development at Sentara. “Our customers, patients and members have spoken clearly and said the teams and employees recently honored represent to the highest level what the Sentara Commitments are all about.”
Each winning unit or department receives a plaque and special badge pulls acknowledging the honor and monies for a unit-based recognition event. Congratulations to all the Patient and Member Choice Awards winners.
View a list of the Patient and Member Choice Awards winners in the Platinum category.
Helping Norfolk’s Homeless
Wanda Thomas was working as an office manager for a tax preparation service when she had a brain aneurysm 18 months ago that not only left her disabled, but also homeless. With no insurance and without the ability to work, Thomas fought her way back to recovery after surgery and two-and-a-half months of therapy while … Continue Reading
