Note: this letter was published in the March 14, 2020 edition of the Toledo Blade.
The fact that the former Medical College of Ohio hospital has been pretty much decimated at the greedy hands of ProMedica is very disturbing to me and many others. I used to work there back during its glory days and was very proud to be a simple part of that institution.
I worked in the heart station and saw firsthand the care and attitude of the health-care providers. There were so many exceptional doctors. For cardiac care and orthopedics, MCO was the place to go. The heart and kidney transplant teams were becoming renowned. We had a Level 1 brain trauma center. It was not unusual for the heart surgeons and cardiac physicians to sit at the bedsides of patients into the wee hours of the morning in an effort to assure the well-being of their patients.
When my mother was taken to MCO via squad, I found out about it as I was leaving home for work. I immediately went to her room and will never forget that four cardiologists were around her bedside. They did not know she was my mom. Administration stressed that we should treat everyone as a patient or customer, everyone we came in contact with daily, which was the true meaning of team health care.
We were taught to respect and address the needs of everyone from radiology to physicians, nurses and techs, so that patients received the best care possible. The fact that it was becoming a well known teaching hospital was quite thrilling. The students, interns, etc., were very well trained and were a special breed. The whole Medical College of Ohio concept was something for our region to be proud of. Now, it is unrecognizable, and that is a shame.
RITA OTT
Sylvania