We thank Justin and Abby Hall for sharing their experience with us! Their experience is a testimony to the quality healthcare our team compassionately delivers.
Did you plan to deliver here at Madison Regional Health System?
Abby: Yes, we planned the whole time to deliver here in Madison. My doctor, Dr. Jennings, has been amazing. At every appointment, she’s remembered everything about us. She has made our son’s dad feel included just as much as me.
Were you expecting to have a C-section?
Abby: No, because everything was going really well through the whole pregnancy. I came in for an induction because that morning, during an ultrasound, Dr. Jennings noticed his (baby) fluid was high. The night we came in, we were greeted by Marissa. We just adore her. Dr. Hoefert came in and was lovely. She started the induction, and everything went well other than the normal pains of labor, contractions, and what-not. The next morning, Friday morning, around 7, the contractions were really painful, so we started to get the epidural going. We had the pleasure of then meeting Dr. Clem, who was lovely.
Justin: Everyone on staff is immaculate.
Abby: When I started pushing, Marissa and Beth were incredible. They were incredible at getting me to try different positions. I love that the providers here don’t make you do things only one way. They use their best knowledge, but they give you the choice. Things just kind of slowed down, and the epidural started to wear off. Dr. Clem came in, totally understanding, and said we could try Pitocin or get a C-section started. We tried the Pitocin, but by that time I was exhausted, not feeling well, and having contractions every minute. Once we decided to do the C-section, we were amazed at how quickly everyone was on board. They called Dr. Summerer, who is also amazing. When he arrived, he reassured us, and he and Dr. Clem formed a plan. It took 15 minutes, and the next thing we knew, we’re in the surgery room. Everyone was amazing in there! Jerry, the CRNA, was great. Fifteen minutes later, he (baby) was out and perfect. It couldn’t have gone better! Everyone really cares. You can really feel that they love what they do, they love their patients, and they love OB. It’s amazing to have that individualized attention, love, and care.
Justin: I love, too, that they are so supportive, and it’s a unique way that I’ve not really experienced before. Here, it’s like, “Any direction you feel comfortable with, we will help you.” That, to me, just impressed upon us such a great example of the care provided. I could not even imagine going anywhere else.
Abby: We come from places where the hospitals are more than overcrowded, and the providers just say, “This is what we are doing,” and that’s it. You can’t get individualized care elsewhere. Everyone here, starting with Dr. Jennings, supported what we wanted to do and what we felt comfortable with.
Justin: We were nervous about not having Dr. Jennings for delivery, but she assured us that every single doctor would be an excellent choice. She was right! Every doctor we met was extremely supportive, so patient, kind, understanding, and so smart. The only doctor we haven’t met is Dr. Liscano, and people say he is amazing! Marissa was icing on the cake! She is the standard of care. She just went above and beyond!
Abby: She was our rock. We couldn’t have done it without her.
Justin: She has so much OB knowledge, comfort, love, and an amazing attitude. She’s so smart, too. She knows so much.
Abby: She comforted me and was with me the whole time. I’ll never forget how supportive she was. Then to have the specialty of having Beth, her mom, I loved that! What a great dynamic. They work very well together. They are both very knowledgeable.
Did you feel safety was a priority?
Abby: It was. Their #1 priority was safety for sure.
Justin: It was. Every step of the way!
Abby: No matter if it was an ultrasound or just a routine checkup, every single nurse we encountered – Shelbie, Renee, and even Cylie in the ultrasound room – they were lovely! Everyone has such heart and love for their job, and it’s so apparent. You hear people say, “Oh, you should go to Sioux Falls,” because they are worried it’s just too small here. Well, that’s so misguided. There’s no reason to go. There’s no reason not to come here and experience this amazingness.
Justin: And it’s a beautiful facility. It’s top-notch! You have all the technology and then some. It’s just comfortable. All the other nurses – Chelsea, Pam, and Harley have been great. They are caring and have such good attitudes, too!
Abby: We are glad that, through this, we got to meet Dr. Hoefert and Dr. Clem, who are awesome as well, and we really liked. And Dr. Summerer – he’s already been in today, and it’s Saturday. I love that! He came in just to check on things.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Abby: I just loved that Dr. Jennings worked with me during my pregnancy, and she’ll be his doctor. She’ll have an even more special connection with him.
Justin: Having a facility like this – we are so lucky. We live like a mile away. Whether it’s an appointment or another visit, we are right here. Especially when the appointments became weekly, we didn’t have to drive to Sioux Falls. It’s great having everything so close. We plan to eventually have a second child, and we would choose this again in a heartbeat. He’s lucky to have such great providers to take care of him.