Exceptional Patient Stories 

At Sentara, we believe our patients and customers deserve our best every time they walk through our doors. We appreciate and value hearing about employees who have exemplified the Sentara Commitments. With your help we can continue improving and truly redefining what it means to deliver healthcare in the future.

We invite you to read recent letters and notes we've received from patients and families who have received exceptional care thanks to Sentara employees. If you'd like to share your exceptional Sentara story, you may do so by using our online form. We look forward to hearing from you.
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{An out-of-town patient/employee praises a Sentara Potomac Hospital patient relations representative for going above and beyond during an emergency.}

A Potomac Patient Relations representative used her personal time to ensure that an out of town ER patient was met with outstanding customer service.

"I am a Chesapeake Sentara IT employee who was working at the hospital on August 6, 2010; where I subsequently went to the Potomac ER with an eye emergency. The ER staff and ER physician were all very astute in recognizing a potential critical problem and acting with haste. After the examination I was told I needed to see the on-call ophthalmologist whose office was located in Manassas, a number of miles away.

With the type of vision issues that I was having, driving a car was not an option and being alone in the area with no one to assist me, Susan Vician, a patient relations representative, volunteered to drive me to Manassas. With the potential to lose sight in an eye, it was imperative that I get to the ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

Not only did Susan drive me through the hour long 5 p.m. Woodbridge traffic, she waited for me through the procedures, took me to the pharmacy, waited again, and then drove me to get something to eat prior to taking me back to the hospital. She was my hero that day, as I would not have been able to manage any of it on my own. It ended up being a very long day, but Susan with patience and a great sense of humor was able to ease most of the anxiety for me. I wanted to say thanks in way that would highlight her exemplary customer service."

Learn more about the Sentara Commitments and share your exceptional patient story.
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{The following letter was submitted by the mother of a patient at Sentara BelleHarbour. Her one-month old baby was a patient in the Emergency Department.}

"

Pictured left to right: Liz Nelms, Kelley Andrews, and Katie Batten.  Not pictured: Dr. Kelley Foley and Vicki Bishop.

My month-old daughter Alice, had been fighting a minor case of sniffles for about a week. She’d been seen a few days ago by her regular doctor, who reported nothing wrong other than a cold, and told me to keep an eye on her. On Christmas Day, I worried, because her appetite had dropped off completely. I took her to the new Sentara BelleHarbour Emergency Department, where they tested her for RSV (negative) and checked her out. As she wasn’t dehydrated and there was still nothing wrong other than a cold, they sent us home with further instructions to keep an eye on her.

The next day, my baby still wasn’t eating, and woke up very lethargic, an unhealthy color, and only somewhat responsive. My husband stayed home with our older daughters and I drove my baby back to BelleHarbour. We were seen immediately and Dr. Kelley Foley, who we’d seen the previous day, agreed something was very wrong. Dr. Foley ordered some tests, and came in the room to do an assessment herself, when my baby suddenly stopped breathing. I cannot possibly say how lucky we were that it happened at BelleHarbour and with Dr. Foley in the room.

Before I had even really absorbed what was going on, Dr. Foley and her team had Alice across the hall and were performing CPR. She went probably only less than a minute without oxygen before they were working on her. It took just a few minutes- and just as they were starting to intubate her, Alice coughed up the mucus that had been blocking her lungs and started to breathe.

Just a few minutes after that, Alice was on full life support and the transport team from Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters was on their way to pick us up. Alice, diagnosed with non-RSV bronchiolitis (basically, a bad virus that had come on very quickly and settled into her lungs) spent six days in pediatric intensive care and another four after that at the hospital getting better.

If it weren’t for the fact that we were at BelleHarbour when Alice stopped breathing, she probably wouldn’t be alive today."

Dr. Kelley Foley, Emergency Physicians of Tidewater, Liz Nelms, RN, charge nurse, Kelley Andrews, RN, Katie Batten, ER tech, and Vicki Bishop, RN, were amazingly quick and thorough when Alice stopped breathing and I know they saved my baby’s life. I can’t possibly thank them enough and will never forget them."

Learn more about the Sentara Commitments and share your exceptional patient story.

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{Kristin W. submitted the following story about her patient care while delivering her first child at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.}

"I came to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital on July 5, 2010, in labor with my first child. I was extremely nervous and didn't know anyone who had delivered there, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I am so impressed. I got excellent care and everyone was so nice and helpful. The first nurse I had, named Erika, was super helpful and helped me get through the contractions until I could get an epidural. And they also talked me through that. She kept me motivated and made me feel like I was doing a great job. The other nurses were also great. The first nurse I had after I was taken to recovery...really took great care of me.

I expected to get good care, but Sentara met and exceeded my expectations. They made me feel so comfortable and treated my husband like they were also caring for him. We both felt so comfortable...my husband is in the military and I made the choice not to go to the military hospital. I'm glad I chose Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. If we are still living in Virginia when I have my next child (if we are blessed with another one!), then I will definitely be coming back. I am going to recommend them to everyone.

Thank you Sentara for making the birth of my first child such a positive experience."

Learn more about the Sentara Commitments and share your exceptional patient story.
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