I had the opportunity to spend a significant part of this year evaluating the Idaho Falls/Eastern…read moreIdaho medical system. If you have a stroke, and respond well in the hospital, you don't get released, but graduate to the Inpatient Rehab Unit. So you are still in the hospital, but on a special floor to help you get to a certain level of self help. I had a useless left arm, an extremely weak left leg, and I had trouble speaking clearly. So I got the triple decker special - Physical Therapy (PT) (leg), Occupational Therapy (OT) (arm), and Speech Therapy. I was there for ten days, pretty much busy from 8am (Matt(PT) would show up earlier and I'm not a morning person) to 8pm when I'd crawl into bed exhausted. I'd have all three daily for about an hour each, and it was exhausting! You never realize how tiring staring at your arm trying to get it to move can be! I'd work on exercise machines, walk a lot with assistance to get my leg stronger, and practice speech exercises. A lot of this is needed to retrain your brain (a stroke is a brain injury of course) by repeated movements (even if the movement is from an external source) Combined with therapy, doctor check-ins, med adjustments, food (too much during this time for me), and me insisting I sit up all day versus laying in bed (I still had to schedule bill payments on my iPad! With one arm of course), I was ecstatic at even slow improvement and the quality of all the therapists. After 10 days, there was still a very long path in front of me, but I had achieved the inpatient goal - I could survive (not thrive) at home alone. Goals included being able to dress myself (one handed is OK), take a shower with assistance, walk with a walker or cane, and so on. The unit does a graduation ceremony when you leave with a certificate and a good luck card, which was nice given all the work. The support and care was excellent. It was sad to see other patients worse off than me, especially those with cognitive issues. A stroke is terrible (word comes from terror), but these folks worked their best with everyone, with multiple therapy needs. Now I had to continue the journey, and that rehab would be much longer. Great job everyone!

On July 25th my husband had a heart attack and through a series of tests, etc he had a double…read morebypass graft surgery. The next five days I watched as my husband slowly recovered due to the amazing care from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit as EIRMC. He was released and then ten days later on August 10th my husband had a stroke. At first all things related to the stroke seemed minor. But as I drove to the hospital region of Idaho Falls my husband was googling where to go to for a stroke. It turned out EIRMC ER was the place...they have a whole dedicated stroke area. In an ER one gets immediate attention when the words "I think I'm having a stroke" are said. And in fact he was having a stroke. It was minor at the time but over the next five days the symptoms kept on growing. The stroke resulted in him not able to walk, impaired speech, and no use of his left hand/arm at all. It was a club which could barely be moved and was quite swelled. He graduated from the hospital part of the building to the sixth floor of EIRMC which has an Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation center. As explained to us - their job was to help him recover enough usage of his leg, arm, and speech to be able to function on his own with a care giver. He could not open a jar of pickles when he left - but he could ask me to open them for him. Over the next ten days he went through exhausting therapy to re-learn how to walk with assistance, how to speak clearly, and how to use his left arm/hand...or as in his case how to use his right hand to do the tasks needed like climbing up and down stairs and walking on grass (an uneven surface). The patience of these therapists and CNA's is remarkable. Their care was so amazing I was able to stay home some and get some sleep. My job was about to start and I needed to catch up on sleep to do this job of caregiver to my beloved husband. When he entered Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation he could not walk without the assistance of someone next to him. His speech was slurred, and his left arm was a club. When he was released he could shower by himself, he was able to dress himself, he could walk with the use of a simple cane, and he spoke clearly. All that in ten days time. These doctors, therapists, and support staff gave my husband the gift of dignity upon his release. He could enter into society without being seen second best, or stared at by little kids wondering what was wrong. I will be forever grateful to the Staff at EIRMC for saving my husband's life and helping him recover so he can be a contributing member of society again.

Dr. Stoddard has always given the most outstanding care for my aging parents. He is a good…read morelistener and is knowledgeable and caring. He is an excellent healthcare professional and I would highly recommend him.

To say I'm upset would be an understatement. Honestly, we are new to the area & Dr Stoddard was…read morerecommended. I tried for 2 weeks to get an appointment. Each time I called the office I was put on hold & told they needed my records & I could have them faxed. I was also told each time I called that Dr Stoddard had to approve me as a patient after he got my records. I contacted my doctor & called Stoddard's office back who had no record of my call. I called my doctors office again in California & asked that they call or fax Dr Stoddard's office the information they needed. I told my Dr in California I had to be approved to see this doctor. I was jumping thru hoops to try & see a doctor? I was even asked if I was sure I needed to see an internal medicine Doctor. Really? My doctors office in California had never heard of such a thing, nor did my insurance. This unfortunately set the scene & upset me, so I requested my records from Dr Stoddard's staff as it is not in my best interest to be seen in this office. Exactly what does he have to approve? I will go back to my doctor in California while trying to make funeral arrangements & then try and find an internal medicine Doctor In Idaho to assume my care. What a totally unnecessary waste of time & energy.

Individual nursing care is great. Gina is top notch. Very knowledgeable! Takes time to chat a few…read moreminutes. We get to know each other. And she's thorough as well. Office help is great too.