Dr. Vince Boston, Emergency Center Physician, received a Who’s Your Angel nomination from the Chad and Karla Hildebrand family. The Blessing Foundation presented the Who’s Your Angel certificate and angel wing pin award to Dr. Boston on November 11.
Karla stated, “On October 24th we brought our daughter, Madalyn (10 years old) to the Emergency Department for what we thought was a simple allergy to medication. We presented to the department and we're almost immediately triaged back to a room. We were only in Blessing about 15 minutes when Dr. Boston walked in our room. Having lived in Quincy all our lives and having children with a multitude of medical issues it's not lost on me that without pediatric specialists, finding out the cause of the problem usually takes a bit to figure out. This was a different day. Dr. Boston walked in and took one look at Maddie and said, I want you to know....I did my residency at St Louis Children's Hospital and I know exactly what this is and we need to get your daughter there now. He went on to explain Steven Johnson's Syndrome and then we realized the severity and urgency of the situation. Within the hour Dr. Boston quickly and quietly, talked to our pediatrician to keep her in the loop, the Dr. who was admitting Maddie to Children's and had the ambulance there for the journey to St Louis. Dr. Boston then took the time to stand and talk to us while the paramedics we're putting her on the stretcher and assured her while walking with us in the hall that Children's was where she needed to be and it was a fun place. This personal touch was an amazing gift, Maddie is autistic and was having some major anxiety at that moment, it meant the world to us he would take the time to comfort her.
Had Dr. Boston not moved so quickly I am not sure I could be telling the same story I am today. By the time we got to Children's Hospital the disorder had progressed to the inside of her mouth. In this season of thankfulness, we are eternally grateful for Dr. Boston. As a parent who has previously lost a child, the thought of losing Maddie is something I cannot bear to think about. We spent almost the whole week at Children's. The last time getting off the elevator coming home, Maddie looked at me and said, you know what mom....I said what....she said Dr. Boston was right. I asked her what she was talking about and she said, he was right, this was where I needed to be and it was fun!! Dr. Boston truly is an Angel to us. A true Blessing to the hospital and to the community, thank you Dr. Boston.”
The “Who’s Your Angel” program is an opportunity for patients and their families to express their appreciation to anyone in the Health System who had a positive influence in their healthcare experience. When the donor makes a financial gift of any size in the name of the employee and writes up a story sharing the experience, the Foundation deposits the gift to the patient care area or restricted fund that most closely matches the employee(s) being honored or the reason for the patient’s time with the Health System. This donation was deposited to the Emergency Center Fund. One hundred percent of Foundation gifts are designated to caring for patients in need.
Any staff member can be nominated for a Who’s Your Angel award, and nomination forms can be found in over 35 different departments within the Health System, from Palmyra to Pittsfield, to Golden and more! For more information regarding the “Who’s Your Angel” program, or giving of any kind to Blessing Health System, contact The Blessing Foundation at 217-223-8400, Ext. 4800, or by clicking here.