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Letters to Dr. Greenberg Since becoming president, I (we) have received many letters commending our faculty and staff for outstanding patient care. These letters, or excerpts from letters, from patients and their families provide ample evidence of their high regard for our clinical services. I am pleased to share some of them with you, and recognize those who are providing skilled and compassionate care. Dear Dr. Greenberg: I felt that it was necessary to take the time to e-mail you to fill you in on what was a very pleasant experience my wife and I had as patients here at MUSC. I am on the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and my wife is an internist working for Carolina Family Care. She had to have minor vascular surgery this week, which is never pleasant for anybody. I just had to point out that I feel we received absolutely excellent care in the ambulatory surgery clinic at Rutledge Tower. Everyone from the support staff, nursing staff, and medical team was prompt, professional, and friendly. I will not be able to list everyone’s names but the nurses in pre-op and post-op were wonderful and we were so pleased with Drs. Hermann and Shaikh (anesthesia) and Dr. Bruce Elliott (vascular surgery). At first I thought we were getting the “red carpet treatment” because we are both physicians and work in the MUSC system. But I observed the entire staff treating other patients the same way we were treated. It made my wife and I proud to be affiliated with MUSC. Dear MUSC Staff: I would like to thank everyone who participated in my medical care during my recent illness. There is no question in my mind that I received the finest medical care that exists. The competence and concern and humanistic qualities exhibited by this staff at all levels was tremendous. Thank you for getting me through this and there are no words that can express my appreciation. My family also wishes that I express their gratitude to the staff for their efforts on my behalf as well as their kindness and concern for them. Dear Dr. Greenberg: My husband recently underwent surgery at MUSC Hospital, and I am writing, at his suggestion, to tell you what wonderfully caring and professional treatment he and I received during our short stay there. The staff members who checked us into the surgery department, the many different nurses or aides who prepared him for his operation, the operating room personnel who explained every procedure before he was taken to surgery, and Dr. Bruce Elliott and his team of doctors and residents were extremely thoughtful, cheerful, understanding, and attentive to our needs and concerns. They allayed our fears, gave us confidence in a happy outcome, and made a difficult 24 hours much more bearable. We would also like to commend the nurses on the 9th floor, where my husband spent the night following his surgery. They displayed the same kind of cheerful and professional attentiveness we experienced before the operation. His room was most comfortable and particularly welcome since it seemed more like a room at home than a standard hospital room. Dear Tommy (Thomas C. Rowland Jr., M.D.): Since you are chairman of the board at MUSC, I thought I would share with you some good experiences I had recently. In late June I was found to have a growth in my pancreas and was referred to the Digestive Disease Center at MUSC. I saw Dr. Brenda Hoffman in early July and she performed an endoscopic CT and fine needle biopsy of the mass. This turned out to be a low grade carcinoma of the pancreas. My experience with the receptionists, the nurses and the staff was very positive. They were all kind, caring and very patient. I noticed that this was not just with me, but was the same with all the other patients and their families too. I was sent the next week to the Hollings Cancer Center to see Dr. David Cole. Again the experience was positive. All the personnel from first to last were kind, patient and caring. Dr. Cole scheduled me for a Whipple procedure on July 25. This had to be changed to July 26 because of the power outage. Again the process of admission, the explanation by the anesthesiologist and the pre-op procedures were thorough but kind and caring. After surgery my room was on 10 east. The nurses and care givers were wonderful not just to me, but also to all other patients. I know when patients have a good experience, they usually compliment the physician. I believe that it is just as important (or maybe more so) that these clerical and nursing personnel be recognized. They make us look good. This marvelous attitude which pervades the entire complex must come from the top - the Board and the President. Please express my appreciation to Dr. Hoffman and the Digestive Disease Center, Dr. Cole and the Hollings Cancer Center, the operating room and recovery room personnel, the anesthesiology and pain management staff, the residents and medical students (my junior medical student was Lee Milling), and the staff on 10 east. They made my experience a good one. I am doing quite well. The nodes were negative and we feel we have a surgical cure. I’ll probably be back at work in another few weeks. Editor's note: Dr. Rowland's term as chairman of the board at MUSC concluded on August 2000. Dear Dr. Greenberg: I have been a cancer patient since July 1999. The treatment provided me by Dr. Andrew Pteris and Dr. Frank Brescia has been outstanding and I consider both of them to be compassionate, caring and extremely competent. I believe MUSC is to be commended for these excellent physicians.