From left: Lou Ware, CST; Emily Callaway, RN; Benjamin Kellogg, MD; June Poole; Amanda Deering, Unit Clerk; Maria Shaver, RN; Renee Cogburn, CST

“I felt like I was staying at a 5-Star hotel!”

–June Poole

From the moment June Poole arrived at Rhea Medical Center, she knew she was in good hands.

This past April, June Poole (center) began feeling discomfort in her lower right abdomen. “By Saturday, I was in quite a lot of pain” June explains. “But I decided to tough it out and see my doctor on Monday.”

But the pain just got worse. By 5 a.m. on Monday, June woke up and told her husband, Jim, to take her to Rhea Medical Center. From the moment June arrived at the hospital, she knew she was in good hands. “The registration person was so kind and took me to triage immediately.”

An X-ray and CT Scan soon followed and revealed the problem: an infected and inflamed gallbladder. By early afternoon, June was in surgery. Dr. Benjamin Kellogg, a general surgeon with Rhea Medical Center, used a laparoscopic technique, which requires only a few small incisions, to remove the gallbladder. A week later, June was back at work.

“There are three words that really describe the people at Rhea Medical Center: caring, compassionate and competent,” June says. “I was totally impressed by the staff. Everybody went above and beyond. Dr. Kellogg and the entire surgery team really made me feel at ease. And the housekeeping staff was so courteous. My husband was recently a patient at a major hospital, but the care he received wasn’t close to the care given to me at Rhea Medical Center.”