My Experience with Taneja Center for Surgery at AdventHealth Tampa was Nothing Less than Inspirational

by Scott Creighton

 

Yesterday I had the fortune of getting a total knee replacement done at Taneja Center for Surgery at AdventHealth Tampa and I would like to tell you about it, if you have a moment.

First of all, I am not in anyway being compensated for this article.  Consider it for what it is, just a review of a service put out there for your consideration. 

Secondly, this website is dedicated to exposing the misdeeds of Big Business here in the states and across the globe. So this glaringly supportive offering from me might seem a bit out of character.

And that is what I mean by 'inspirational'  

I was worried about surgery. We all are I think. Kissed my dog before leaving. That kind of cringe.

When I got there and checked in in front of the massive wall of living indoor plants I was stuck by the demeanor of the people behind the counter. They were genuinely glad to be there and help me get checked in and on my way to start the process.

When I say genuinely I mean it wasn't that fake facade you see plastered on the faces of people at Disney World or Busch Gardens. I mean it was real. They liked their jobs and they really wanted to help and this... demeanor?... was present in EVERYONE I came in contact with. 

Then the self check-in kiosk I pads.

 

Please hire enough staff, wonderful staff, and get rid of those things. There are only two of them and he was on one for 30 minutes or more. Hell two folks got thru in my line then I did and then I went up to second floor waiting area and I realized today I had taken a photo of the beautiful lobby/waiting area... and was still down there in the photo trying to check in.

The Taneja Center is a beautifully designed facility from top to bottom from start to finish which inspires patients with confidence in the people there and inspires the workers because the place is so well lit so clean so modern and so designed with the work they do in mind. 

It's a great place. Please don't spoil the experience for some people with those kiosks. 

The surgery process was impeccable from start to finish. The assistants, the aids, the nurses, the doctors... everyone was professional and warm, genuinely warm and gracious to me as a patient. 

The post-op staff were terrific. Had a single nursing assistant in my room with me the whole time taking care to make sure my pain level was manageable and I was lucid enough to move on to post-op room 2.

There they got me dressed, got me up, got me moving on the knee and they did it all with patience and genuine compassion understanding the trauma I had just gone thru and putting dealing with that way ahead of clearing a room for the next one.

None of them were in a rush. Not ONE. They took their time, were very attentive and compassionate and in the end that is really the gold standard of healthcare. Period. Full stop.

When they took me upstairs onto one of the surgery floors I swear it looked like something out of a good Sci-fi flick. The hallway was long and white and clean and modern looking but on one side, massive wall of windows. 

Going into surgery, scared, and looking out to see the beautiful sky down here in Tampa. What a calming effect it has on you. What a thoughtful design.

The ORs line the other wall. Big doors open up into massive rooms all white and sterile and clean with techs and OR nurses all busily prepping for you. They were friendly, jovial, laughing at my stupid jokes. But you can tell, they love their work and they take it VERY seriously.

I don't care what business you walk into, finding a place with employees like this is rare indeed. Very very rare. 

I tip my hat to all of em from the greeter when you first walk in to the woman who pushed my wheelchair to BB's car. All of them. Without a single exception have my respect and my TRUST.

And I think part of that for workers is the design of the place. 

I can't say enough about it.

Asked by my home healthcare person, part of the hospital's program, why I wanted to do this, I told her I want off disability. That I used to do drafting and design work on AutoCad and I wanted to be able to work again.

Now that I think about it, I want to work for the firm that designed the Taneja Center for Surgery at AdventHealth Tampa. It is in short, business done right. And there is far too little of it for us to see and touch these days.

Dr. Guttentag and his staff were great. Just a wonderful, painful but wonderful experience across the board. I can't say enough about him, his staff and the location.

As you can see, the hospital itself inspired me right along with all it's workers and it's visitors.