I wanted to take the time to acknowledge the wonderful care that I received over the last five months.
     In August, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I cannot explain the thoughts and feelings that I had when I received this news.
     I have been a patient of your facility over the last half of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. Whether I was an inpatient or outpatient or just there for various tests, the care I received went above and beyond.
     All of the interaction that I had with the clerical staff, nurses, lab technicians, radiology, dietary and housekeeping staff was excellent. I was treated with dignity and respect. After the first few times I came in, for whatever reason, I was treated as if I was an old friend. I was called by my first name and even hugged by many of the staff. I recently was there for some tests and it was the same.
     I have run into some staff members out in the community and have always been greeted with a big smile, a friendly wave and a “how are you doing? You look great!” This meant a lot to me.
     I realize that we, including me, all too often only have something to say when we have a complaint. I must admit that I did have a few minor complaints while I was there. Now that I am feeling better, I realize that sometimes I felt so bad that no one could have pleased me. I think the staff, especially the nurses who probably get most of the complaints, should realize that the person they are dealing with is probably sick and frightened and their fears are taken out on them. They should not take the complaint personally.
     I can’t remember how many times while I was an inpatient that I cried (and there were many) and the staff member that was with me at that moment always had time to comfort me and help ease my fears. They treated me as if I was the only patient they had to see at the time. They never cut me short or made me feel uncomfortable in any way.
     There are a few staff members who are very dear to me that went out of their way to comfort me, but I do not want to mention any names for fear of leaving someone out.
     I would also like to thank all of the doctors who treated me. They also treated me with dignity and respect. All of my questions were answered and most of my fears allayed. I think when you are dealing with cancer there is never a time when all of your fears go away, but the Fort Memorial Hospital staff has been expertly trained in helping patients deal with those fears.
     So, to all of the staff at Fort Memorial Hospital, I would like to say thank you. You all have made a frightening and painful situation more bearable.

My husband and I would like to let the entire birthing center staff for how wonderful they made the experience of having our first child. Our nurse, Melanie, was kind, caring, compassionate, and honest about what my birthing experience was going to be like. I gave birth to a beautiful 9 pound baby girl with no epidural and I could not have done it without her encouragement. Thank you to all the staff who took such great care of us, we felt like the only patients there! Thank you also to Dr. Shea for being such an incredible doctor.

Recently, I spent four days in your hospital on the surgical floor. I just want to say thank you for the wonderful care your staff gave me. They treated me with the utmost care and respect. Every department from the surgeons to the maintenance people were friendly and polite. I am very glad I came to your hospital for my surgery. Thank you again!

I am sending this email to let you all know what a wonderful job the staff there is doing. I gave birth to my first baby there and it was an awesome experience. I received all the attention I needed and more. Most importantly I felt the one on one interaction with the staff was extraordinary. I would recommend Fort's facility to anyone. Keep up the great work!

I wanted to thank the nursing staff on the OB floor. They were kind and caring to a new mother with a ton of questions. Special thanks to Bev who spend a lot of time trying to help me get my milk in. She spent about a month trying every option she could with us, we are not a complete success but we would of had no success without Bev. Thank you so much.

My dad is a resident at Countryside Health Care center and has been having problems with choking when eating. He had a test done in the x ray dept and the Speech Therapist and her staff were so kind and understanding with him. The therapist explained what she was going to do and then explained the results and sent a report with him back to the nursing home so they knew how to help him right away. They cared and my dad got better. Thank you

We would like to thank some of the special staff on in the birthing center. Our little bundle of joy arrived over three weeks early; since we are first time parents, this was a very scary experience to say the least. We loved our nurse, Heidi, who immediately put us to ease. She calmed us and helped us get to the task at hand. Over our stay the outstanding nursing staff was wonderful to all of us. Another individual that deserves to be pointed out is Bev. Our little girl had some trouble with breast feeding. Bev's patient and kind words had us on the right track in no time.

We simply wanted to take some time to let the people know how much we appreciate them and the service they provided!

I would like to thank all the nurses and Dr. Mokhtar for the kind and patient care they gave me while in the hospital with my "early" labor experience. One nurse in the labor and delivery floor, Heidi, stands out most and made my scary experience not only fun but calm. I look forward to seeing you all again when the time comes for me to have my daughter. I have a little one who was born in 2000 and I received excellent care then and now it seems to just have gotten better. Thank you again for your outstanding care. See you all soon.

Our son was born in the birthing center on March 24, 2004, and we were so happy with the way that we were treated all the time. Everyone was so helpful. We were so pleased. Thank you to all the nursing staff that assisted us especially Deb!! Once she came in that baby came out like we had been on a rollercoaster plunging down. It went so fast. Our next one will definitely be delivered there no matter what. Thank you all again!!!

I would like to thank the staff at the Emergency room for the excellent service I recieved on 8/6/03 at 02:30 a.m., they quickly helped me with my health problem and eased my pain. Thank you so very much.

This is the second time I visited the e-room, the first was with my daughter and they were exceptional then and still are.

I would just like to say that they are very quality people and perform with diligence and determination.

My mother was a patient at your hospital about three weeks ago. She had respiratory arrest and came in to your ER as a pulseless, non-breather. What saved her life was quick action by Cambridge EMS but mostly, your paramedic team who arrived quickly.

Without the ability to intubate my mother, she would not have lived to get to your hospital.

I am very grateful that you have this wonderful service and that it was available to her, in Cambridge.

The paramedic was very kind and compassionate! Thank you!

I would like to take this time to commend you for developing an excellent medical care staff. I have nothing but high praise for the outstanding healthcare and their medical professionalism in your Emergency Unit.

I do not want to be a frequent visitor but, if I need your services again, I wouldn't hesitate.

Please thank all of those involved for me.

Often, people are so quick to criticize, but do not take the time to express appreciation and pleasure when they encounter a positive experience. I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude, that I feel it is necessary that I pass this on to you.

A year ago, I began receiving care from Barb Kelly, a physical therapist, at the Whitewater Rehab Clinic. I was diagnosed with lymphedema, and needed quite a bit of help and care. When Barb's name came highly recommended, I decided to give her a call. It was a horribly difficult time for me, and Barb was so pleasant and patient with me. She gave care and personal treatment one can only dream of getting from someone. Barb went above and beyond her call of duty as a therapist. Barb used all her resources to help me to the best of her ability.

I never dreamed of saying that I considered going to therapy with Barb as my safe-haven. She brought me up from my darkest hour, and helped me to realize all that I could accomplish, and that my condition was manageable. I truly feel honored to have met Barb, and that she is the one who took care of me. She changed my life, and I have no doubt that she has touched all of those who she comes across. Thank you!

The birth of our first child, Andrew, was made even more special by the wonderful care and nuturing nature of everyone in the maternity ward. Everyone from the Doctors to the support staff were genuinely caring and kind. The staff was excellent at encouraging and suggesting methods that might work in the care of our child and were extremely professional in the way they conducted themselves. Thank you all so much.

I just wanted to thank Dr.Dhillion for everything. The Center for Womens Health nurses were also very kind and helpful. I could never ask for anything better while in delivery of my daughter Destiny. He made my time very memorable and the thought of this moment bring tears to my eyes. I feel that Dr.Dhillion is one of the best doctors anyone could Ever have. When I was in a lot of pain and going through the birth I still was laughing at him. He made me feel very comfotable and that's the best thing anyone could feel. Again I just wanted to take the time to give thanks to him and let everyone know that he is one of the BEST anyone could ever have while giving birth to there child!!

My wife and I are the maternal grandparents of Logan, who was born at your facility on December 29th. We want you to know how much we were impressed with the excellent care given to our daughter, Tina and the warm hospitality shown to us during our visit. Everyone from the office staff in the hall, the staff at the coffee bar, the nurses and nurse's assistants, the volunteers and everyone we met, treated us in a way that made us feel welcome and special. We would recommend your facilty to anyone.

The family of Rose and Bill Joyce want to express our deepest debt of gratitude for the kind, loving, professional and excellent care you have provided during these past few months. Health issues can cause a family to display a full range of emotions. We are grateful for the compassionate and professional manner in which you handled ours.

As we enter this holiday season, we reflect on the wonderful lives we've lived. We enjoyed sharing our family album with the staff and residents. We appreciate the accommodation at Thanksgiving and the warmth you all showed our family. We believe there are angels among us and several of them reside and work on the second floor at the Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital.

Once again, please accept our sincere thanks for all you have done and know that you will be in our prayers. We wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all of God's blessings.

Recently, I had an appointment at Spectrum Eye Center in Fort Atkinson. It had been a while since I had my eyes checked and I was putting it off. I'd like to tell everyone about the great customer service at Spectrum Eye Center, and especially with Dr. Colleen Hebert. I have to say that my appointment at Spectrum was the best eye appointment I've ever had. Dr. Hebert explained, in detail, answers to everything I asked about -- and she didn't seem rushed or hurried to get on to the next patient (like I've experienced at other optical places). She told me exactly what she was doing with my eyes, so the exam was easy, painless -- and thorough. They even gave me a pair of trial contact lenses right away, to wear for a week, to make sure everything was ok with my changed prescription. I'd definitely recommend going to see Dr. Hebert -- she's friendly, personable and knowledgeable. What a nice change from the chain store optical places, where you are rushed in and out and leave feeling like you're just a number to them.

I wanted to thank all your staff for the care and compassion you provided to my family these past few years and most particularly these past few weeks.

You had taken excellent care of my Grandfather, Henry "Heinie" Smith. Over the past few months, his visits to FAMH were more frequent. I last visited Grandpa at FAMH on September 8th and your staff not only attended to his needs but also those of my family.

During parts of our visit, we needed to spend time in the lobby. For some reason, the lobby TV would not show the Packer game. This could have been a crisis on opening Packer weekend. Your maintenance staff rolled out a TV on a cart so we could distract ourselves while waiting for medical staff to attend to Grandpa.

When the nursing shift changed, one of your employees personally told us and checked to see if we needed anything.

Most impressive was the care provided by your nursing staff. Amy and Jodi were Grandpa's nurses that day. Every time they came in to see him, they would tease and laugh with Grandpa as they performed their medical duties. This was very important to Grandpa as he always liked to flirt. This was something cancer could not take away from him. At the end of their shift, both Amy and Jodi came into Grandpa's room to say goodnight for the evening.

I understand Jodi and Amy's dedication and compassion was not the exception to the care Grandpa received at FAMH.

These may seem like small things but they distinguish quality care from generic medical care.

I have worked in the administrative side of senior healthcare for the last 10 years and I know that appropriate appreciation is not consistently shown to the caregivers that deserve it the most.

I wanted you to know how much I appreciated all you did for Grandpa and my family.

I want to thank everyone in the maternity ward at Fort HealthCare as well as Dr. Mokhtar. Lilly, our first child, was delivered after a long labor by c-section and the nurses and the rest of the staff treated the two of us wonderfully, as well as my husband. Our every need was met in a caring and professional way. Thank you again!

Thank you everyone at Fort HealthCare for the recent emergency services performed on me. Your medical professionalism and comforting mannerisms were truly appreciated! Thank you to the doctors and staff in the emergency ward as well as the first floor nurses and staff for taking such great personal care of me. I am improving daily, and I am looking forward to a full and speedy recovery! God Bless.

I am an 85-year-old resident of Dearborn, Mich. While visiting in Cambridge (attending high school graduation exercises), I became seriously ill and was rushed to Fort HealthCare. I was immediately placed in the ICU, where I remained for five days.

How fortunate the people are who have access to such a health-care facility. I've been in several hospitals, but the teamwork, dedication, caring, training of every member of the staff -- the doctors, nurses, therapists, dietitians, aides, housekeeping, etc. -- was A-1.

I want to publicly thank them for their services. It was a privilege to be at Fort HealthCare.

As a 12 year old farm girl, I injured my back lifting a bag of feed, and I lived with the pain for 10 years. Finally I went to Fort HealthCare rehabilitation services. My pain disappeared after just 3 days of doing the strengthening excercises they taught me. Being able to do all the things a 22 year old should be able to do, like playing softball or going bowling, has given me back my self esteem. And the Lake Mills annex made getting help easy -- I got the excercise I needed close to home. If you ever find yourself in pain, don't wait. Turn to the specialists at Fort HealthCare for relief.

When I had hip replacement surgery, I realized how lucky we are to have such a terrific local hospital. My wife was able to visit me every day, which made a big difference. After my discharge, I received a visit from the Home Health nurses every day for two weeks -- even on weekends! They checked my blood pressure, drew blood for tests, checked my temperature and changed my dressings. All their help made it a lot easier for my wife and I to cope during my recovery process. Now we're looking forward to taking walks together again. You couldn't ask for better care than I got from Fort HealthCare & Home Health!

When we discovered I was carrying triplets, my husband and I were excited -- and scared. But with close prenatal supervision, my pregnancy went smoothly, and I was able to deliver our babies at Fort HealthCare. They treated me like I was the first woman ever to have a baby! The babies received exceptional care, and I got a lot of guidance from the staff on how to handle triplets. My mom was born at Fort HealthCare, and so was I. I'm glad my three little sons came into the world here, too.

When I was diagnosed with diabeters, my doctor referred me to Fort HealthCare for nutritional counseling. With my hectic schedule, it was a real plus being able to meet with my nutritionist near home in Whitewater. She was very encouraging, and assured me it wouldn't be too hard to lose the weight. She was right! Following the sound dietary principles and the walking program she recommended, I've lost 52 pounds over the past six months, and I feel terrific!

After a few days of not feeling well, I went to see my doctor. He sent me straight to Fort HealthCare for blood tests. I was admitted to the emergency room, where tests quickly revealed that my appendix had ruptured. I had surgery later that day. They said it was a good thing that I came in when I did. I was discharged 6 days later with the open incision this surgery requires. It's scary to go home with something like that. But the Home Health staff came to check on me every day, and provided lots of support during my recovery. I think Fort Atkinson is luck to have a hospital of this caliber. I'm sure I got more personal care and attention than I'd have received from an out of town hospital.

After reconstructive knee surgery, I had physical therapy at the Fort HealthCare rehab clinic in Lake Mills for 2 months. It was so convenient, I went there right after school. I did slideboard, jumping, worked with weights, rode a bike, and did a wide variety of theraputic excercises. The people there really know what they're doing, and they were so nice! We had fun and still accomplished my goals for a quick recovery. My knees supported during the past softball season, and I'm happy that I'll be able to continue sports my first year of college.

Sue Armstrong thought she merely had a bad bout of flu when she entered the emergency room at Fort HealthCare in November 1998. Rushed into surgery for undiagnosed colon cancer, Armstrong found her life suddenly revolving around the doctors and nurses at the Fort Atkinson hospital.

Despite the hardships of the cancer treatment- the poisons pumped into her body to kill even worse poisons, the discomfort, the fear- Armstrong said she was heartened by the "unbelievable effort" the Fort Atkinson health professionals put into her care.

"Then I started on another part of the journey, chemotherapy," Armstrong recalled. "I was blessed that Fort HealthCare was equipped to provide the type of care I needed, just seven miles away from home."

Armstrong said she sees the Fort Atkinson hospital as providing "top notch" services, and said she'd do anything she could to assist it in assisting others. She said that although she wouldn't have chosen this introduction to the ambulatory care and other departments at Fort HealthCare, her sometimes harrowing experience with cancer has made her aware of many caring people and wonderful services available there, about which she would not otherwise have known.

We would like to thank the OB nursing staff; they were so wonderful during our stay at the hospital. Everyone was so helpful, especially Sandy, who helped us get through the hardest part! Our little baby was taken care of so well by the nurses on third shift while we slept. It felt like a vacation to us since we ended up being there for 5 days.

A few months ago our two-year-old son woke up at 2 a.m. with terrible cough. He couldn't catch his breath and was crying. We rushed up to the ER and entrusted him into the care of your amazing staff. Through the entire process of chest x-rays and administration of "yucky" tasting medicine the staff continued to bring comfort to our scared child. Before we left for home the nurse came back with a gift that she had been saving for a special patient. It was a stuffed shark. That night and every night since, he sleeps with his "big fish." Thank you for you extra special attention to the smallest of patients.

I was recently a patient on the Medical/Surgical/Pediatrics floor and wanted to express my thanks to the entire staff during my stay. What started out as a colonoscopy, turned into surgery as several of the polyps were too big to remove with that procedure. I would not call the stay pleasant as I was in some pain, but your staff including Jane in particular, always was there to assure me and encourage walking as a good start to recovery. All the staff during the day and night shifts were very polite and positive; just wanted to let you know I appreciated the care.

We just wanted to thank all the nurses, doctors and pediatricians on the OB floor. They were very kind and caring with all the questions we had. I gave birth to my first baby there in the new OB department and it was an awesome experience - not a scary experience. I was calm while in labor but one of the OB nurses that stuck out the most was Elizabeth. She was in the delivery room when I was giving birth and she just kept reassuring me that I was doing great. We were very happy with all the attention we received and received more attention because we are first time parents. We also felt the one-on-one interaction the staff had with the patients was extraordinary. We would recommend Fort Memorial Hospital’s OB facility to anyone having a baby or thinking of having a baby. If we have another baby it will definitely be at Fort! Keep up the excellent work OB staff!