Mercy Medical an asset to county communities

Recently, my husband and I were in need of some emergency medical services and our local hospital, Mercy Medical Center in Merced, came through for us with flying colors.

I realize that not everyone has a positive experience at whatever hospital he or she visits. But we should be grateful that the Dignity Health hospital is here, in Merced County, ready and available to take care of all our needs.

I applaud Mercy Medical for providing people in Merced County a place to go when someone needs emergency services or other type of health care.

It complements the hard work and services provided by other local health care facilities such as Horizon’s Unlimited Health Care Centers, Golden Valley Health Centers, Castle Family Health Center and Livingston Community Health.

As for our experience, we were very impressed with the manner in which hospital staff handled each and every client who came through the emergency department. In addition, the speed with which they attended to clients was also impressive. There is no denying there was a waiting period for everyone, but the medical staff did an outstanding job.

I was reminded of when we came back to Merced County 15 years ago and constantly heard different people refer to Planada in negative ways.

We were very surprised at that and couldn’t understand why they felt it was such a bad place to live. It is the same with Mercy Medical; we were shocked at the advice some people gave us about going to another hospital. We are very happy and proud that this medical institution exists in our community, just as we are proud of Planada.

It is apparent that Mercy Medical is an important part of the community through the hospital’s sponsorships of different events, constant participation in community events, including the health fair, and promoting healthy lifestyles through free health and exercise classes, educational seminars and other efforts.

Lillian Sanchez is a health educator employed by Mercy Medical and a longtime resident of Merced. She has had a positive impact on our lives through her knowledge, sincerity, positive attitude and her work.

Lillian is one of the reasons we decided to attend a health class and participate in a Zumba class. She has a way of making people feel welcome, included and important. Her friendly smile alone is always a welcome sight to see, and you know she is genuine by the way she treats each individual. She is as much an asset to the community as she is to Mercy Medical.

Every Monday afternoon at 5:30 at the Senior Center on 13th Street in Merced you will find us along with 80 or so others moving, dancing, punching the air, waving our arms, kicking our legs and shaking our booty to the beat of salsa and upbeat pop music with Lillian. Of course, being the rookies in the crowd, we’re yet not able to keep up with Lillian’s fast steps, but we keep trying. The idea is to keep moving.

Next time you’re involved in conversation about our local hospital, remember that Mercy Medical does a lot for the communities of Merced County. And so do all the dedicated members of its team, people like Lillian Sanchez, who help carry out its mission of making Merced County a healthier place for all of us.

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Mercy Medical an asset to county communities."