A recent experience

My family and I have received healthcare at our local hospital here on Saipan for well over 40 years now Just this past Tuesday afternoon, I took my wife there for an appointment with Dr. Kohnen at the Family Care Clinic. Never in all those years have I been so impressed with the entire experience as I was yesterday, from walk-in to departure. Efficiency, caring, professionalism, and cheerful attitude were the traits that characterized our visit, which included our caregiver as well as my wife and me. I hadn’t been to FCC for a couple of years and was prepared to deal first off with the anxiety that I have in trying to hear the numbers being called out for initial registration, which for some time was the only notification that your turn was up (my hearing is not so good these days and hearing the announced numbers had long been a problem). So how impressed was I when our number was shown above the reception cubicle’s lighted display and the number was also called out via a speaker. And our number was called after a waiting time of only a few minutes, from the time we entered, got our number, and sat down in a non-crowded waiting room.

The next activity was going to the reception cubicle and being asked only one thing, my wife’s date of birth. I was dumbfounded that I didn’t need to present all the documents that I had dug out and taken with me (hospital card, appointment paper, insurance cards, etc.). I gave the date of birth and everything else was called up on a computer and the attendant just verified that all the necessary info was up-to-date. This all took about a minute and I returned to our waiting spot, highly elated! Next I was prepared to wait 30 minutes or longer to be called into the clinic to see the doctor. After about five minutes or so, my wife’s name was called and the three of us went into the clinic and were escorted to the nurse’s station for checking vital signs (BP, temperature, etc.), current medications, etc. From this activity, we were taken right to the doctor’s office and within a couple of minutes, Dr. Kohnen came in to begin the consultation.

The consultation was thorough, helpful, conducted in a relaxed, conversational manner, and not at all rushed, lasting well over an hour! We ended up getting not only some helpful information and discussion about ongoing care for my wife, but at Dr. Kohnen’s suggestion, both of us getting flu and shingles shots, as well as blood work for lab tests for my wife.

Yes, I was tremendously impressed and pleased with the entire experience and, although we spent about three and a half hours at the hospital, it seemed like a much shorter time.

I have no idea who or what is responsible for this vast and impressive improvement at CHCC, but I do know I’m grateful and genuinely happy with it.

P.S. I need to also mention that getting the initial appointment was a much improved process as well. In the past, when I go to the hospital or call to make an appointment, the date it’s scheduled is often a month after the time I make the request. This time, when calling for the appointment, I was given a date less than a week after my request. That alone is noteworthy.

Ivan Propst
Susupe, Saipan