"I was having back and chest pain, and difficulty breathing. I went to urgent care. They assessed me and said I was having a heart attack. I was quickly transferred to the emergency room at Sharp Grossmont, where within one hour, I was in the Cath lab receiving life-saving treatment. I owe my life to the great staff at the urgent care center and my community hospital ER. Without them, I would not be here today. Access to emergency services is critical and they must be protected."

-- Donna, El Cajon, CA
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“Our son Michael is 47 years old, has Downs Syndrome, and lives at home. We have a great primary care doctor, but lately medical emergencies have made it necessary to go to the ER STAT. The doctors and staff at our community hospital emergency room are professional, helpful and reassuring. It is comforting to me as an aging mom and caregiver to know that our hospital ER is there when we need it. We don't want it to close or to be compromised in any way. We intend to be an advocate for keeping our ER open!”

-- Mary, Santa Cruz, CA

"My mother had been in pain for sometime in her abdomen and in her back. Eventually, the pain became so bad that I took her to St Mary's emergency room. The helpful ER nurses and doctors took my mother’s pain seriously and she got her first pain relief in several months. She was referred to a doctor who did some additional exploratory tests and discovered my mother had intestinal cancer. Unfortunately, it had already metastasized to her bones. If we had not had an emergency room to go to where we received great care, my mother would not have gotten the pain relief, nor the critical diagnosis or treatment, she needed. St Mary's is full of heroes."

-- Jennifer, San Francisco, CA
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"I’m 72 years old. Recently, I had to go to my community hospital ER because my blood pressure shot up to 200. While I was there, my blood pressure rose again to a dangerous 219/99. If I had not had access to the emergency room medical staff at Eisenhower Medical Center, I might have had a stroke. They were there when I needed them most."

-- Nina, Palm Desert, CA

“The sea of masks in my ER waiting room was pretty startling. I was struck by the number of concerned faces looking at me, especially since many had been waiting for 4 or 5 hours to be seen. Their weariness was palpable. ER physicians and nurses worked tirelessly throughout the day and night to provide care to the record numbers of patients who were frightened by this looming public health crisis. We were lucky however. We got to see the relief on parents’ faces when we explained their child did not have the H1N1/Swine Flu virus. We’re proud of the care we’re able to provide to our patients and our communities when they need us most.”

-- Sam Farrell, RN, Emergency Department

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