When you’ve been receiving infusions since childhood, hospital visits become part of the routine.
For Daniel Molter, infusions mean he can have relief from the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract, and the treatment always occurred as usual until he moved from Pittsburgh to Hillsdale to start college. In his hometown, the children’s hospital offered an expansive infusion floor, so he didn’t know what to expect from the smaller, independent hospital in rural Hillsdale.
“I was a little bit nervous coming to Hillsdale,” Daniel said. “But I showed up for my first appointment and everything was super nice and ran really smoothly.”
It didn’t take long for him to realize that Hillsdale Hospital’s Center for Infusion Care provided the same quality of care as a larger organization, but there was more to the appointments that set it apart from a major health system.
“At a place like Hillsdale Hospital, you’ll find people that are super kind and understanding toward your situation and will be really willing to help,” Daniel said. “It’s nice to have such friendly faces at the infusion center whenever I’m there—people I’m able to talk to, learn from and [who] make me feel really comfortable where I’m at.”
One of Hillsdale Hospital’s team members, Tammy Evener, is usually operating the infusion center when Daniel comes in for his appointments. Now, two years into receiving care in Hillsdale, their camaraderie is evident as soon as he walks into the room.
“Sometimes patients are fearful of medication or IV insertion when they come in, and my goal is to make them feel at ease,” said Tammy Evener, BSN, RN, from Hillsdale’s infusion center. “I make my patients a priority, treating them as if they were one of my loved ones.”
As he approaches his eighth year of receiving infusion treatments, Daniel has realized how impactful it is to receive care from a team that knows him and wants him to have a good experience every time.
“It’s just something I’ve basically grown up with now. With that being a staple in my life, I really appreciate the little things like getting to know the staff,” Daniel said.
Crohn’s is a chronic and long-lasting disease, but Hillsdale’s infusion center enables Daniel to enjoy his life fully and face the future with confidence. Between classes at Hillsdale College and his shifts at Reading Emergency Unit, a few hours every month in the infusion center is a minor commitment for everything the treatments allow him to do.
“It’s really an unsung position, the infusion department,” Daniel said. “I really appreciate all the work they’ve done and continue to do in regards to patient care.”
