PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

For me, this week provided a solid and favorable glimpse at Salem’s medical services arrangements.

The occasion was a procedure – labeled “heart surgery” – to extract a combination pacemaker/defibrillator that I had in place for about five years. For some reason, the device malfunctioned, causing no specific problems other than that it didn’t work. So, it was turned off externally.

That sparked a new question. Should it be removed to avoid infection in and around the heart?

The consensus from three cardiologists was yes, remove it.

So, I scheduled the procedure and the story from there is nothing but successful.

Here is a quick summary, which I provide in order to indicate that medical services are alive and well in Salem, even as health care public policy issues nationally create nothing but confusing headlines.

• My regular cardiologist, Dr. Kevin Thompson from Oregon Heart Center in Salem, referred me on to a specialist to consult about the extraction procedure.
• That specialist was Dr. Ashit Patel from Cascade Cardiology, also in Salem. [In a very credible move, all cardiologist service offices in Salem collaborate to refer all device extraction procedures to Dr. Patel. That approach avoids unnecessary duplication.]
• The procedure was set for Tuesday, June 27, and, in a bit of surprise to me, I was treated at Salem Health as, specifically and totally, a “heart surgery patient” with all that implies relative to surgery preparation. Not just a routine extraction. Full preparation. Enough said.

But the point, a good one, is that, in this type of procedure, something could go wrong, so that meant full preparations, plus a heart surgeon standing by in the operating suite in case his services were necessary. They weren’t!

Everything went well and I have nothing but plaudits for all of those involved – Dr. Tompson’s office; Dr. Patel’s office; the anesthesiologist’s offce (Dr. Christopher Aldrich); the surgery reception folks at Salem Health; the surgery preparation nurses at Salem Health; the operating team led by Dr. Patel; and the surgery recovery nurses at Salem Health.

Each individual operated with total professionalism and courtesy.

For those who question whether our state’s or country’s medical services work, my answer is yes. And, to say that, I draw on my recent experience, with great gratitude to all of those involved.

And that includes my wife, daughter, son who were on hand and supportive through the entire process (not to their mention spouses and three grandchildren).

Now, the remaining challenge for me is to get through a two-week recovery period so I can get back on the golf course!