Local Care Coordination Provides Pain Relief [Wayne Specht]

My name is Wayne Specht. I live in rural Astoria, which is 35 miles northeast of Brookings. I have 11 acres out there, which I maintain full-time, and I also love traveling quite a bit. And have an RV and usually spend the winters in Arizona with my wife and three cats.

Why did you need an MRI?

I was feeling aches and pains in my shoulder at certain movements and so on. Hot tub helped it a little bit, but then it came back, so I had an MRI done.

What was your diagnosis?

It showed that I do have a minor rotator cuff tear, which doesn't require surgery at this time, but there's a lot of tendinitis. And so I was given a cortisone shot. You know, with rotator cuff, you're in a cast probably for six to eight weeks, and you couldn't drive an RV to Arizona very easily that way. So I was very pleased I don't need surgery at this time, and hopefully, the PT is going to, you know, strengthen it to the point where I won't need it at all.

How was your MRI experience?

Oh, it was a piece of cake, I mean, you just laid there, and they did all the work. I mean, Julia was the technician and, you know, she walked me through everything, what had to be done. "Don't move," basically, was the guideline there.

How was your care coordinated between the VA and Brookings Health System?

I contacted the VA, explained to them what I had, and they said, "Well, we couldn't get you in until October for a cortisone shot." At least he says, "Well, you know, if you want to, you can go to the local community up there. We can set you up for that appointment." And that's where the Care in the Community comes in too. The VA, for about the last year and a half, has a program called Care in the Community for veterans who live more than 50 miles from a local VA. They give an authorization to go to a local provider closer to my home, which Brookings is than Sioux Falls. And so I came here based on my hospitalization here in the past, and I thought this was a good place to be.

Would you recommend imaging at Brookings Health System?

They have the capability and equipment, and professional guidance to do all that. And it is very well done here, and it was efficient. It's what I needed, and they got me out the door in an efficient manner. That's all I can say, it's good medicine by good people.

Are you one of Brookings Health System's grateful patients who would like to give back to us? Learn more about how you can give back at brookingshealth.org/MyThanks.