At 75 years of age, my first stay in a hospital was a revelation. A staph infection had me in intensive care with intravenous antibiotics and constant 24/7 attention from skilled, professional people who overpowered any pessimistic personality and charmed me into an enthusiastic participant in my recovery. We need no other paradigm for coordinated harmony in this world than the values and behavior of the people of the medical profession. A microcosm of that model exists at the Southern Inyo Hospital in Lone Pine, California.

     A few years back, the hospital was close to being shut down. Three bankruptcies in short order and a failure to pay many of the workers, including Lone Pine’s favorite, Dr. Jones, made Southern Inyo Hospital look close to closure. Fortunately, new managers and new direction, and a stalwart determination by the entire staff gave the institution a resurrection. There is a spirit of triumph in every section of the facility today. Many people in the area are not fully aware that the old damned and doomed hospital is now charged with a strong and positive spirit that strengthens the desire of patients to recover and heal. Even with a depressing COVID pandemic, the optimism is all over the building.

     I need to confess that I was a severe critic who wanted to terminate the hospital. Fortunately, I didn’t get my way. Recently, I was in big trouble with a staph infection. I was so pessimistic and miserable, I really didn’t care whether I lived, but that kind of attitude is not allowed at Southern Inyo Hospital. I was cured of the disease, the bad attitude about myself, and the mistaken belief that Southern Inyo Hospital was hopeless. I’m old and I don’t expect to become the bullet-proof Superman that I was in my glory days, but I’m glad I lived long enough to experience the revival of this necessary facility.

. . . People of Inyo County or anywhere else can trust this staff as they trust each other to put sick people back on their feet. Even chronic invalids respond favorable to the compassion in this hospital’s spiritual transformation.

             -  Nip

Posted 10/2021