As a local pastor, I have the privilege of visiting with people during times of illness and sorrow. I have been with folks as doctors have delivered tough news and I have witnessed the most vulnerable and hurting conditions that people can face. Consequently, I have been in nearly every area hospital on numerous occasions. I have sat and prayed with people in emergency trauma rooms, hospital lobbies and cafeterias, intensive care units, regular hospital rooms, family waiting rooms – you name the place or situation and I have seen or experienced it at least once.
Recently I found myself on the receiving end of good medical care. On a late Sunday evening, I checked into the emergency room of St. Elizabeth’s beautiful new facility. From the moment my wife and I arrived I was treated with incredible compassion, respect and professional skill in a facility that I would say ranks right up there with the very best of our local Puget Sound hospitals. During my subsequent three-day stay in the hospital, I was treated in a similarly professional and caring way. From the cleaning and laundry people, to the nurses and nurse assistants; from the dietary department to the special technicians, from the front desk to the physician’s assistant who oversaw my case, I was completely impressed our new hospital. Each day, I was visited by one of the chaplains and the busyness of morning rounds was interrupted with a beautiful prayer that evoked God’s care for staff and patients alike.
When we first moved to Enumclaw, we were impressed that a town this size had a quality medical facility. Now, with the assistance of the Franciscan Health System, Enumclaw is blessed to have a first-rate hospital that cares about the whole person – body, soul and mind. Though I would not have preferred to have been hospitalized in the first place, I am grateful that, when it was necessary, a facility like St. Elizabeth’s and its medical staff was close at hand to offer the care I needed.
Thank you to all of you who were part of the team caring for me. I hope not to see you again as a patient for a long time. But if I should ever need to be hospitalized again, I am so thankful you are there for me and for all my fellow Enumclaw and Plateau residents.
Fred D. Davis, senior pastor
Calvary Presbyterian Church
