Vanderbilt is an immaculate facility with state-of-the-art equipment and a wonderful team of nurses and therapists . . . The care was superb and exceeded every expectation I had for what a rehab facility should be!
Robyn Karp lived with back pain for 15 years. In her case, the culprit was spinal stenosis along with degenerative disc disease. The condition led to pressure on her nerves—and much discomfort, too.
“I had epidurals and all kinds of steroid shots over the years to deal with it,” she explains. “But when the numbness got so bad that I lost feeling in my feet, I knew it was time for surgery.”
Years ago, Robyn’s ex-husband, a surgeon himself, had cervical spinal disease, which required the fusion of vertebrate in his neck. After extensive research, he elected to have his surgery done by Ziya Gokaslan, MD, a world-renowned spine surgeon practicing at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland at the time. So, when it was Robyn’s turn to find the best doctor, she followed the same path.
In October of 2021, Robyn, a Boca Raton, Florida resident, made the trip north to Rhode Island Hospital—where Dr. Gokaslan now serves as Chief of Neurosurgery and Clinical Director of the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute—to undergo a laminectomy and fusion of her L4-L5 discs.
The aim of the procedure was to relieve pressure on the nerves and decrease symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness. It was an instant success. “As soon as the surgery was done, I could feel my feet again,” Robyn says.
But then she had to get back on them.
The next step in Robyn’s recovery began when she was transferred to The Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center at Newport Hospital. For more than a week, Robyn received intensive, interdisciplinary rehabilitation services and therapy in the hospital’s award-winning setting.
"Vanderbilt is an immaculate facility with state-of-the-art equipment and a wonderful team of nurses and therapists.” she says. “They encouraged me to do my best and were genuinely concerned about my health and welfare. The care was superb and exceeded every expectation I had for what a rehab facility should be!"
When it was time for Robyn to return to Florida, she was best positioned to continue her rehab at home and realize a full recovery—thanks to the coordinated care she received from two word-class Lifespan care facilities.
For Nhyazia-Renee Lovely, going to Newport Hospital to deliver her first child was a “positive and comforting” experience. Partly because her mom had given birth there three times and she had a good idea of what to expect. But mostly because she found the staff at the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital to be kind, compassionate, and highly competent in every way.
“The whole process felt calming and really soft,” she explains, “which was important because we were a little nervous at first.” Nhyazia says that her pre-natal care, ultrasound appointments, visits with her midwife and doctor, as well as interactions with hospital support staff all exceeded her expectations.
“Everyone was so professional and could not have been nicer,” she adds. “They communicated with us every step of the way, answered all of questions, provided us with educational materials, and were so attentive and responsive. They were constantly checking in with us.” Even when baby Rosemary presented with jaundice—a common condition but scary, nonetheless, for new moms and dads—hospital staff were quick to reassure the young couple and take action to remedy the condition; employing phototherapy to expose the baby's skin to as much light as possible, which makes it easier for the baby's liver to break down and remove the bilirubin from the blood.
“We went home the next day, and everything was fine,” Nhyazia reports, adding “I feel like Newport Hospital is the best place to have your child because of the birthing center. It’s very safe and the care is superior.”
Lois Broke Her Ankle—and It Saved Her Life
When Lois Mass fell at her Middletown home and broke her ankle, she received, at least, a small measure of comfort knowing she would be taken to Newport Hospital to have her injury surgically repaired. “I knew I’d be in good hands,” she says.
When Lois Mass fell at her Middletown home and broke her ankle, she received, at least, a small measure of comfort knowing she would be taken to Newport Hospital to have her injury surgically repaired. “I knew I’d be in good hands,” she says.
But what the retired nurse didn’t expect—but would come to learn firsthand—were the incredible lengths the Newport Hospital team would go to ensure she had a positive outcome… even if what she came in for didn’t turn out to be her biggest concern.
Lois’ orthopedic surgeon noticed that she had a fever, which persisted even after he had taken steps to reduce it. This prompted the doctor to consult with a hospitalist. Among other tests, the hospitalist took a CAT scan of Lois’ abdomen, which revealed three large tumors on her colon. Just days later, Lois underwent a colectomy to remove the tumors. Shortly after that, Lois had ankle surgery and then went to the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center for 10 days of recovery. All told, she spent a month in-patient at Newport Hospital.
“The fact that I received the wide range of expert care I did all in one place is amazing,” Lois says. “The doctors, the nurses, the support staff… I can’t thank them enough.” “The way I see it, the hospital staff could have done my ankle surgery and sent me home, but we probably would never have known about the cancer. I’m so grateful they went the extra mile. They saved my life.”
It’s very important that we purposefully name what we’re grateful for. There’s such a palpable benefit to people’s everyday lives when they have a feeling of gratitude on a regular basis—and the brain science backs it up. You could almost think of it as exercise for the brain. Those pathways can be reworked. For some people, it takes more work, more conscious attention. Our thinking can really change the way we view and perceive, and interact with the world. The more second nature that feeling of gratitude is on a regular basis, the better your overall well-being will be. Just having gratitude for each other and gratitude for what each of us can help the other with, whether it’s hospital and donor or just two friends. If everybody’s feeling gratitude on both sides, it will allow us to really accomplish our mission as a hospital.”
—Preston Douglas, MD, Neurologist