The standard of care we found at APD was exceptional and meaningful. Everyone helped Sam with his medical and financial situation and to me that is priceless.
Sam's momIt’s easy to find media stories about emergency room visits that are unpleasant and sometimes harsh.
“We had the opposite experience at APD,” said the mother of a recent patient, Sam. “In fact, we were so impressed with the care and the follow-up attention our son received that I wrote a letter to the Hospital CEO to share our experience,” she added.
Sam was recently home from graduate school in England when he fell ill while spending time at his parents’ home in Etna. Sam’s mother took him to the Emergency Department (ED) at APD when his fever and malaise turned into sharp chest pains. An avid runner and ski racer, Sam was relieved to learn that his heart was working fine after receiving an electrocardiogram test.
The APD ED physician working with Sam, Dr. Todd Morrell, then carefully ordered Sam’s tests sequentially, rather than simultaneously, to rule-out possible issues, and prudently considered Sam’s options for procedures at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). Upon Sam’s discharge from the ED, Dr. Morrell even found a coupon for Sam that made his initial prescription 100% cost-free.
“The standard of care we found at APD was exceptional and meaningful. Everyone helped Sam with his medical and financial situation and to me that is priceless,” his mother added.
While Sam did not expect to hear from the emergency team after discharge, Dr. Morrell called him more than once to see how he was feeling and how testing went at DHMC. Dr. Morrell also arranged an appointment for Sam with APD’s Dr. Brian Lombardo to establish primary care.
Sam is back in England, feeling better about his health and about emergency health care. “I’m happy to know that APD’s emergency department is there for me when I’m stateside and open twenty-four hours a day for the Upper Valley community,” he said.