Testimonials
"ECMC Trauma Center is in a league of its
own"
"I’m sure for most people, news
reports about hospital closings and budget cuts are just another tedious
reminder of our decrepit economy and the bureaucratic stranglehold of
local politics. Although most of us don’t dwell on the next visit to the
trauma center or think about scheduling some physical therapy, I can
assure you things can change quickly. I was the last person who ever
expected to need someone to bring me back from near death, or teach me how
to walk again.
I would like to tell everyone involved in making
decisions to close or change Erie County Medical Center to think about the
level of care provided there. I hope that if you or your family ever need
it, you will still have the same care available.
If you measure the
need for ECMC in our community, and the incredible people working there
who provide such superlative care for all patients in all departments,
there should be no doubt we have an irreplaceable resource. The care and
compassion I received as a patient there made both my own pain and my
family’s anguish bearable. I urge our leadership to keep this available to
everyone."
Michael Andrzejewski
Kenmore
January 6, 2005
This is a belated note of appreciation for all the help you and so many other wonderful therapists, nurses and aides gave to me in September. (I am that famous 91-year-old who was so well advertised every time I entered the gym!) Now I am 92 and doing very well. The more I remember the care you all took of me, the more I appreciate how lucky I was to land in the Erie County Medical Center. I tell my friends how much I admired the people who work there. how considerate, how concerned, how cheerful! When I remember those young patients with their bodies just about destroyed from accidents and the folks with strokes — on and on — how patient you all were in giving people hope! Where do you find all those good people doing such good work day after day?
I wish my memory was as good as my muscles because out of all those faces I remember, the names have left me. People mean to write notes to thank you, but upon getting home, we get preoccupied and keep procrastinating, but, believe me, if you ever wonder how much good you do, let me tell you, YOU DO GREAT!
Sincerely,
Esther Wagner
"Thank you for giving my mom a fresh start. If you could be around when she's playing with her granddaughter or helping me hang new curtains.the gratitude for having excellent care can never be expressed in enough ‘thank yous.’"
Shari Brawley
"My husband was taken to the trauma center at ECMC. From the moment we entered the emergency room, we were treated quickly, professionally and with great care. During his 25-day stay at ECMC, we were so pleased with every aspect of the facility and the remarkable staff. Thank you!"
Darrah and James Karr
"My injuries were serious and extensive. The physicians, nurses, therapists and transportation aides.everyone on the team was spectacular. Their experience and genuine concern made it easy on me and my parents."
Michael J.
Billoni
"I've been a heart patient for 14 years. I was told I would need another bypass procedure, but all of the surgeons with whom I consulted told me it was too risky.I'm living proof that the surgery can be done and I want to thank the medical staff at the Erie County Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Unit. Having been in all of the facilities in Western New York, I can say ECMC is the premier one."
Albert Lazurus
The Right Words...
"'THANKS' is a word used to express gratitude for something someone else does for you or for something he or she did for you. It is what you say when someone holds a door open for you or remembers it is your birthday. I am not sure of the right words to use when multiple people do multiple things for you with the end result being that you receive the ultimate gift, the gift of life! I would like to share the events of June 23rd, in Salamanca and the Southern Tier, and the excellent treatment I was fortunate to receive. I was having chest pains while driving home from Olean to Salamanca. No big deal.I had pain like this before. My wife was very concerned when I got home and I could not talk to tell her what was wrong. She called a good friend who is usually not in town at that time of day. He was in town and came right over. The two of them decided to call 911. Whatever the right words are, they are here for my wife, Diane, and our friend Bob Koniak.
The Salamanca Fire Department's response was very quick; the locals didn't need a GPS to find our house. They responded with two highly trained EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), Barney Lee and Sue Furgeson! My heart stopped shortly after they put me in the ambulance. Maybe a coincidence, maybe a miracle.a third EMT was at the Uni-Mart at the bottom of the driveway where this happened. Nick Bocharski had stopped for a soda on his way to work. He ran to help. The three of them worked together to get my heart restarted. As they got me stable enough for the trip to Olean General, they called for a fourth EMT and Bill Porter met us just before we got on the expressway to Olean. Barney drove, kept my wife calm and comforted her. Talk about multitasking! The other three worked like a finely tuned machine to keep me stable until they could get me to the hospital. The right words to the four of you for all that you did.
At Olean General, it was like watching ER when they took me in. Dr. Knowles and his emergency room staff were 'waiting for the guy from Salamanca.' The knowledge and confidence Dr. Knowles displayed to me, my wife, my family and friends, and his team in the ER was invaluable. Dr. Knowles and my doctor, Dr. Sheikh, called because 'his patient is critical.' Dr. Sheikh arrived in Olean after a quick trip from Salamanca. He assisted Dr. Knowles and assured my wife that everything possible was being done for me. Everyone knew his or her role and performed it to perfection (even the priest that prayed with us).
The goal in the emergency room was to get me ready for the Mercy Flight (emergency helicopter flight) to ECMC in Buffalo. After the second time my heart was shocked and then stabilized, I was taken by the Olean Fire Department EMTs to the waiting helicopter, the one Dr. Knowles requested before I was anywhere near ready to fly. He was getting me ready to go even though some thought the chances were not very good. He knew he was going to succeed. The right words to you all, even those with names that I do not know.
The next morning, the doctors at ECMC explained what had happened and what was going to happen. They explained how everyone from my wife to Bob, the Salamanca EMT people, then the Olean General ER doctors and staff, the Olean Fire Department EMTs and the Mercy Flight crew were ALL flawless in their care. They told why I was in Buffalo and that they would have the opportunity to get me quickly on the road to recovery. They explained that if just one of the people before them had made a mistake, I would not have made it to them. The right words to Dr. Dashkoff and everyone at ECMC. I know why ECMC is one of the top 100 Emergency Cardiac Care centers in the USA. Once again perfection was achieved.
What are the right words? I certainly don't know what they are. I have never seen them in print to be able to explain my appreciation and gratitude for every person that helped me that day and in the days that followed.
We often hear of the negative aspects of living in the small cities and rural areas of Western New York. I received care from the people of those areas. There certainly could not have been anything better done for me by anyone in the world's greatest cities.
Exceptionally dedicated, educated and trained professionals surround us in our own little area of the world. We truly are blessed to have them. If they wanted to, I am sure all could leave tomorrow for the greener pastures of some big city. They would be in great demand. The right words to each of you for your commitment and dedication to the Southern Tier. You are the kind of people that make this a truly GREAT place to have a second chance to live.
I still have not found the right words to say.
Maybe the next time you see one of these people you will say you heard something about everything they did right to save a 'guy from Salamanca.' Watch their eyes light up. Maybe it wasn't even them, but an associate of theirs. They are all a team. They would have done the same things if they had been called on. Thank them, not just from me, but from yourselves as well. They are there, doing on often-thankless job, waiting for the day we need them. They will be there for you, just as they were for me, because that is who and what they are. They are the neighbors and friends we take for granted everyday.
The right words to each of you, those names I know and those I don't. Without you.there would be no tomorrow for me. My name would have been in the obituaries instead of signed to a letter to try to express a little of my everlasting appreciation and respect to those who joined my team in the game of life. I didn't ask any of you to do what you did and yet you were there, ready, willing and able.
I know none of you did what you did because you expect anything, even a thank you, in return. I hope the fact that you saved a life makes you feel just a little prouder of who each of you are. You truly are the heroes of my world.
The right words to each of you (whatever they really are).
Tim Flanigan
Buffalo News Everybody's Column
June 6, 2005
ECMC offers excellent care for all kinds of patients
I am distressed by the latest budget cuts at the Erie County Medical Center. What many people fail to realize is that ECMC is not there only to service trauma cases and gunshot wounds. The hospital is there for everyone. To consider closing it is a travesty to a city already in peril.
At one time I was not aware of the fine facility that stood downtown. Then I found myself bedridden with three herniated disks - not an emergency, but very painful. Luckily for me, my sister is employed at ECMC and established me as a patient. Over the next six weeks, I received incredible care. My point is that ECMC is a hospital for the people. Other hospitals have received much publicity as being the place to go for treatment and for having the best doctors. I disagree. Each time I am in need of superior medical treatment, I go to that little gold mine tucked away on Grider Street. May ECMC stand tall forever.
Paula
Hackspacher
Amherst
ECMC…here for life!