• Thank you very much for bringing a wheelchair so that I could participate in the Health Fair at St. Mary's Parish Center in Trenton. I appreciate your assistance very much.

• St. Joseph's is my favorite hospital in Southern Illinois. You are always so welcoming.

• Thank you all for the Game Plan program. God bless you all! I think it has touched some of the students. We can now talk about this topic without all the laughter anymore. Thanks! Self respect is starting to take over! (Game Plan is an abstinence program taught by hospital staff in area 8th grades.)

• Thanks for organizing the babysitters class. Great opportunity for the kids. L. enjoyed the morning.

• Thank you all so much for the loving care you gave our dad at the time of his illness. You made all of us feel like your own family. You kept us informed on his condition and were so gentle with him. It was so great to see the loving our dad got during his illness. You all deserve a big round of applause and a great big medal. Thanks again.

• My mom thinks St. Joseph's is the best place on Earth when she needs the hospital. She (was) in St. Joseph's twice in January and rebounded both times. Thanks to everyone there!


• (In ref. to a recent tour) - Very child-orientated. Head Start children loved your warm welcome, Stacy. All departments as Medical, Emergency, Laundry, Infants and Chapel (were) well explained to the children. Kind, loving leaders. A special thank you to St. Joseph's Hospital for sharing with the Head Start children and their families.

•  Recently I was seen in your ER on Jan 1, 2008.  I write today to say how fortunate we here in our community are to have a hopsital of your caliber available to us. I was greeted promptly, from the moment I was taken to my room in ER, I and my wife felt that my needs were being addressed, and I got the care I needed. Needless to say, all of your ER staff was great, and a special thanks to Sra the RN, who cared for me, as well As Dr. Wade, who always makes you feel comfortable in his patient care decisions. Keep up the good work.

•  (To Lowell Jones, Interim CEO): I (recently) had a colonoscopy at your hospital and wanted to write and tell you what a wonderful experience it was. This is not the first time I have had tests or been a patient at St. Joseph's and each time, I come away very pleased with the service and attitude of the employees. They are so friendly and very helpful. I was not looking forward to having this procedure, but the staff was very informative and helpful. Upon reaching my room, I was met by friendly nurses who explained what was going to happen and were very reassuring. I was then visited by someone from Pastoral Care and that was so comforting to have them come and pray with me. This really put me at ease and I did appreciate her words. When I was taken to the room for the operation, the nurses in OR were friendly, helpful and explained what was happening. This is really a comfort to someone who is very apprehensive about what is going to happen. I am always so comfortable with dealing with your hospital and wish all hospitals could be run in this manner. Pastoral Care is the icing on the cake when it comes to patient care and concern. You should be proud of your staff. So many times people are there to complain but I like to compliment when I feel like people go overboard to help others. - Thank you.

•  Whoever came up with the idea of four locations for Health Fairs deserves an award. It is very organized and orderly.

•  I have delivered all three of my children at St. Joseph's and we have been so pleased with the nurses and Dr. Gozia that this being our last made it hard to leave knowing I wouldn't see the nurses again on this note. We feel everything about your Women and Infants Center is the best of the best with really great staff. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts.

•  Each and every one of you should be so proud of the services you provide. (The) hospital is immaculate and Housekeeping provides those services with a smile and a pride that shows in their every action. Dietary Services provides timely and tasty meals delivered with a smile. Surgery, Ambulatory Care and Anesthesia are without equal. The confidence and trust developed between a patient and these caregivers is done at such a vulnerable time that each extra smile, warm blanket and held hand can make all the difference in the world. The nursing staffs on all floors provide the kind of care big places only dream about. The nurses care and that makes all the difference in the world. I cannot thank you all enough. I do not want to leave out the ancillary services folks who provide their care, also with a smile, strict attention to detail and a constant eye to patient comfort and dignity. I salute you all. This patient certainly recognizes your excellence.

•  You are truly angels as you come in and out of our rooms, making certain all of our needs are met. Thanks again for the wonderful care I received and for your great smiles and attitudes. God bless all of you always.

•  To all who cared for our mother: We are so grateful for the wonderful care you showed her as well as your gentleness, kind words, holding her hand when she needed it and words of encouragement. You never treated her as a patient-as you don't the other patients in your care-but as a friend or family member. This is what it's all about. Mom always felt safe and secure whenever she had to go there. She took great pride in her days of nursing and always spoke highly of all of you. We don't remember each of you by name, but God does and we pray that he blesses you and your families.

•  I was admitted to the Emergency Room for a dislocated shoulder. I would like to convey my thanks to Dr. Warner and the professional nurses that attended me. They took me in immediately and attended to my injury.

•  My sisters and I appreciate all the efforts by each and every one of you during our mother's lengthy stay. Your compassion and concern for her comfort and desire to get her well showed during each visit to her room.

•  The Health Fairs were excellent. The staff was friendly and the services great.

•  Please thank the wonderful staff that assist in the Specialty Clinic as well as Administration for their work and dedication to provide the best to us. We have choices because of you. Thank you!

•  To Jeanette-Surgery & Kathie-Community Education: Thank you for giving your time to teach me the first aid class. It was a very fast four hours. Hopefully, all I'll ever need is a band-aid - the knowledge will always come in handy.

•  (We) would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all who assisted with the KidneyMobile visit. We were so pleased with the turnout at Breese - It was the most highly attended screening since the beginning of the program! Thanks! - Lauren Zelechowski-National Kidney Foundation of Illinois

•  Thank you so very much for all that you did for mom. Your many visits, prayers and support meant so much to all of us, more than you could ever know.

•  This is my second delivery in this hospital and I have been treated with the utmost respect and care. I feel there are no suggestions that could make my stay anymore comfortable than it was.

•  Thank you to the nurses, ER, 1South, Pastoral Care and the doctors who all assisted in the wonderful care given each and every time he was there.

•  We are happy to inform you that the Surgical Mission conducted in the Province of Bohol, ably headed by Dr. Renato Rivera, turned out to be a very successful humanitarian undertaking. It is therefore with utmost sincerity that we express our profound gratitude for the magnanimous humanitarian donations you have extended to the health programs and activities of the Province of Bohol. Your valuable assistance has definitely contributed to the success of (this) endeavor. It is worthy to note that thousands of indigent and underprivileged Boholanos have benefited from the surgeries conducted as well as (the) free medicine. The Mission has offered those constituents an opportunity for better life. Again, thank you very much for your benevolence. Your being public-spirited has made a difference to humanity, especially to the Boholanos. Our warmest regards! Very truly yours, Erico B. Aumentado, Governor

•  To Stacy-Community Relations: The tour was great. Our children talked about different areas of the hospital after the trip. You all made the children feel safe and comfortable. I praise you all and a great big thank you. - BCMW Headstart

•  Thank you for offering this service (Health Fairs). It brings many people to check their health whom otherwise may be neglected.

•  Our sincerest thanks for the excellent presentations given to our students. The staff at St. Joseph's is always very prepared and provides useful information that will help students in their career decision-making process. Thanks for making it such an enjoyable experience. - Wesclin Tech. Prep.

•  To Kathie-Community Education & Dietitian Louise Joseph: Thank you so much for volunteering to come and share your expertise at our annual health fair. All of the presentations were very interesting (and) educational and the boys and girls were really excited about the information you shared. Many of the teachers learned some useful facts as well. It is wonderful for the children to realize there are adults who are willing to give of their time and talents to enhance their learning. This kind of support makes our job much easier. Again, thank you for visiting our school and sharing with all of us. - New Baden Elementary Schools

•  (From the Breese Journal Letters to the Editor) - As we drive from Germantown to St. Joe's in Breese, I think to myself, how lucky we are to have such a fine, first-class hospital to serve us. In addition, we have a great administrative team, well-trained personnel, doctors who are always on call to help and all those people who have always been so courteous and helpful to us throughout the years. In addition, we have the Specialty Clinic doctors who come to us from some of the best hospitals. We are fortunate that we do not have to ask family members too often to take us to St. Louis or the county. How great it is to go just four miles with no parking hassles or distance to travel to get to the hospital from the parking lot. My husband has seen about five or six doctors in the clinic over the years, having been referred to them by your primary doctors. We are very fortunate, indeed. We are so appreciative of the medical expertise of these good people who have pulled my husband through many tough medical crisises. I am healthy enough to have not had to avail myself of too many services, except routine. I (had) surgery a few years ago and cannot begin to say how super everyone was to me at that time. I, for one, count my blessings every time I drive to St. Joe's because I know there will be help for us there.

•  If only everyone could have the wonderful staff I had. They took most of my anxiety away and made this first child a wonderful experience.

•  Thank you for all your efforts in this fabulous (Look Good-Feel Better) program! I am SO thankful we could take advantage and share with others who are going through the shock of cancer.

•  I was recently a patient and would like to say a big thank you to everyone! First to the Emergency Room staff - thank you for your compassion, quick diagnosis and treatment. Also to the nurses who cared for me and facilitated a quick transfer to my room. Thank you to the 1South nursing staff and all of you who provided care. You went out of your way to make me comfortable and responded quickly to all my requests. Thanks to those who took the extra time to explain my condition and provide me with information; and to Pastoral Care staff who ministered to me. Last, but not least, thank you to the cleaning and maintenance departments who always keep the hospital looking nice and working properly. I really could not have asked for a more caring and knowledgeable staff. Thank you and God bless.

•  Thank you so much for the extraordinary care that was given to our mother in her final days and for the kindness and consideration shown to the family members during that difficult time. The staff at St. Joseph's is absolutely the finest we have ever encountered.

•  This was my third delivery at St. Joseph's and I have nothing but great things to say about the nurses and staff on the second floor OB department.

•  Thank you so much for your prompt attention to my symptoms and your caring attitude when I was in pain. I would also like to say that I've been in a fair amount of Emergency Rooms and have never been treated so wonderfully.

•  Thank you so much for the wonderful care that you gave to our mom. Your gentleness and extended care is greatly appreciated. We cannot express our thanks for the love and consideration that you showed to mom and our family during this difficult time. Thanks so much.

•  To all the staff: I cannot put into words how comforting it was to have (---) in your care for her last days. It was such wonderful care. I was so at ease with the respect and dignity you had shown her. A special thanks to R - you were super, I will never forget you. Thanks to Dr. E. Gagen for her care and support. God bless you all.

•  Thank you for all you have done for people. We would never go to another hospital. You are the best! Taking care of people must be hard but you do a great job! When I grow up, I want to work there.

•  Just a note to say thank you for the excellent care you all gave me during my stay. Everyone was so thoughtful, kind and patient. That certainly helped take some of the stress away. Again, your care meant a lot to me. Thanks again.

•  To the nurses and staff: I would like to thank each and everyone one of you for helping to make my father's stay at St. Joseph's comfortable and caring. I know he would want me to thank you for taking such good care of him. Thank you for your compassion and care in our time of need.

•  Everything was excellent including the staff. My family lives about one hour from Breese and they highly commented on the hospital for its cleanliness and respectable staff. I would recommend St. Joseph's Hospital to anybody.

•  Thank you for allowing Kathie-Community Education and Paul-Emergency Room to teach the Handle With Care safety program. Both were excellent instructors and all our participants were very positive about the program and feel it will be very helpful to them. - St. Joseph-Highland

•  Please extend our thanks to all who participated in your food drive to benefit the pantry. Matthew 25 Ecumenical Food Pantry at First United Methodist Church-Carlyle