A Personal Story of Care

It was time for her second knee replacement and Roma Black didn’t know what to do. She lived in Wahoo and was concerned about the challenges ahead: such as getting to appointments and rehab after surgery. Then, she overheard a conversation that Saunders Medical Center has specialists come to Wahoo to do joint replacements such as knees and hips in their new facility. She started to investigate. She was very happy with her regular physician at the clinic and talked to them. She was comfortable with her decision to have her knee replaced at SMC. Here is her story:

“I believe I got better care right here in Wahoo than the big facilities. Here they knew my name. It was like neighbors taking care of me. Anytime I turned on my light they were right there to take care of me. It was comfortable. The nurses even popped in and had a seat to converse with me. They cared not just for my physical recovery but how I was doing personally.

“Dr. Koch was my orthopedic surgeon. He was very personable. Very caring and extremely professional. The results have been awesome and I feel so much better after having the procedure.

“During my visit I had the chance to meet some students learning the medical profession. I didn’t realize what a great service SMC offers to these students. I was totally surprised at how many: they came from Omaha to Wahoo to learn their future profession! What a great service we are providing as a community. Students would watch a procedure and ask questions. I really enjoyed visiting with these young people!

“After surgery, one thing to my advantage is that I could go to ‘swing bed’ for 10 days and stay right in my same room. I didn’t need to arrange transportation for my care until I was able to take care of myself. Physical therapy came to me at least once a day while in swing bed. Nurses walked with me a couple of times a day. I believe because I was at the SMC hospital recovering my recovery time was shorter. After that I worked with the Handi-Van to coordinate transportation to my continued therapy appointments several times a week. My stress was so much lower because I didn’t have to arrange out-of-town transportation. I just don’t know how I would have done that. And the extra time it would have taken would have been too much.

“I stand up for the great care I received at Saunders Medical Center. I love it! They have terrific professional care— from the doctors to nurses, to those who brought my food to me to housekeeping. They were very caring people and I feel strongly that my care was better at SMC then it would have been anywhere else!”

—Roma Black, Knee Replacement & Physical Therapy Patient

 More Stories of Care at Saunders Medical Center located in Wahoo, Nebraska.