A SINCERE THANK YOU FOR GREAT PATIENT CARE

On a normal Friday in October 2017, Bayhealth Foundation President Lindsay Rhodenbaugh left his office with a feeling of heaviness in his chest. Having already sustained a heart attack a few years before, he knew something was wrong and immediately went to Bayhealth Emergency and Trauma Services, Kent Campus. There he was admitted and underwent a successful triple bypass open heart surgery, which cleared potentially fatal blockages. After surgery, Rhodenbaugh recovered in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVSICU) at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus and continued to benefit from the services provided at Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation.

As a grateful patient, Rhodenbaugh and his wife, Tami, made a generous donation to Bayhealth, which allowed them the opportunity for their giving to be recognized with a plaque. The Rhodenbaughs decided on having their plaque placed outside of his CVSICU recovery room to show appreciation for the care he received by his physicians, nurses and other caregivers on the unit. A reception was held to commemorate the placement of the plaque and to thank not only the cardiac team but Emergency Department staff as well as the numerous physicians who played a role in saving his life. “No amount of monetary donation can ever express how grateful we are for the outstanding caregivers, but it’s a start,” Rhodenbaugh said. “My life was literally saved by the caregivers here. I’m blessed to work here, blessed to have been healed here and blessed to live in a community with such a great hospital system.”

The plaque and reception came at the completion of the couple’s multi-year pledge to Bayhealth. They donate regularly through payroll deduction to the Bayhealth Foundation. CVSICU Clinical Coordinator Paul Pahren says the team doesn’t feel like they did anything special in their care for Rhodenbaugh, but is honored to be recognized. “We’re driven to be kind and caring with our patients. We hope every patient has the same experience here,” Pahren said.