Patients & Family

Dr. Jones,

I am writing to let you know how great CPNB was to me when I had total hip replacement March 26, 2012 at Regional Hospital in Jackson ,Tn. I never felt the least bit of pain after surgery at all. I had absolutely NO pain medication. Now for not so good news, I started having problems again and I am scheduled to have Revision Surgery September 28 ,2016. My Dr. this time is with Southern Joint Replacement Institute in Nashville. Surgery is to be done at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. I was wondering if this hospital is signed up for the CPNB program. Just knowing that I could use this technique again would be a comfort to me. I honestly don’t understand why any hospital would not offer this.
I will appreciate your response .

Thank You,

Loretta Coody

(from a received email dated 08/30/2016)


COMMENTS from a patient and her husband after having a second total knee replacement; this time, with a continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) at Paris Regional Medical Center in Paris, Texas:

“There is no comparison with the last surgery! She is wide awake and in no pain. Last time, she was nauseated and in pain. Neither this time! There should not be a person anywhere that would not want to use this method of pain relief at this point in time!”
Gary Hancock, Paris, Texas
“Putting the catheter in wasn’t any trouble. This is a much different experience than last time! Just right.”
Marilyn Hancock, Paris, Texas

 

 This letter was sent by the husband of one of our patients to Steve Grubbs, the CEO of Regional Hospital of Jackson January 31, 2013

 

Dear Mr. Grubbs:

This letter is feedback from the stay of a quite unintentional patient at your hospital.  My wife, Emily Speakman, was admitted to Regional on January 4 through your emergency room, and was dismissed on January 15.  Room 433 was our unexpected home for that period.

BACKGROUND:  Emily was visiting her mother in eastern Haywood County when she experienced severe intestinal distress.  After 48 hours of unabated distress, Emily’s sister, who lives in Jackson and volunteers at Regional (senior circle), drove her to the Regional ER.  She was diagnosed with an intestinal blockage and admitted..  She was informed that surgery was necessary if the blockage did not self-correct within a few days.  When I arrived in Jackson on January 5, Emily and I agreed that should surgery be required, we would make arrangements to transfer her to Germantown, TN, where she had undergone two other successful abdominal surgeries by a surgeon in whom we have extraordinary confidence.  On the morning of Jan 7, it was clear that surgery was necessary, and I initiated an attempt to transfer her to Germantown.  Both our primary physician and the preferred surgeon informed me that a transfer, under the prevailing circumstances, would not be possible.  So we were “stuck” at Regional.

OUR EXPERIENCE:  We were extraordinarily blessed, we believe, by multiple circumstances that were clearly beyond our control, including:

  • Dr. Michael Saridakis was on call at the hospital when Emily was admitted, and he performed her surgery.  When he determined that the blockage had not changed over the weekend, he recommended surgery—that afternoon.  We did not expect such prompt scheduling of the surgery, but we readily agreed.  We, but especially Emily, appreciate Dr. Saridakis’ “bedside manner.”  She had many questions and concerns, and he was always willing to take the time to answer, in layman’s terms, her issues.  He described the surgery in understandable terms, and he continuously explained what she could expect as she progressed day-by-day.
  • Dr. Jerry Jones was on duty on the day of her surgery.  We are strong advocates of the CPNB post-operative pain management system employed by Dr. Jones!  Unlike her previous surgery recoveries, Emily was surprisingly alert the morning following the afternoon surgery, and she experienced little pain at her lengthy incision.  She was able to control any discomfort with the “boost” of nerve block medication.  Moreover, she did not have an excruciating morphine headache as before, and her “plumbing” returned to function very quickly after the surgery.   These observations are in sharp contrast with her recovery from previous abdominal surgeries, which I attribute that to absence of the effects of narcotic pain relief medications that dulled her senses and retarded the rebound of her internal organs.  We were informed that under a traditional pain management program, it is customary for a patient undergoing the surgery Emily had to spend about three days in intensive care before being moved to the floor.  At Regional, she returned directly from recovery to room 433, where she had been about six hours earlier.
  • The Nurses on the fourth floor were terrific!—all who attended Emily.  There was no doubt each was genuinely interested in her recovery, and treated us much like family.  Lori (night) and Leah (day) were especially caring and compassionate at moments when Emily was struggling.  The nurses were well-versed in the use of the CPNB pain management technology.
  • Other hospital team members dropped by to seek feedback on our care, including Lisa Wall (several times), even Dale Humphrey.  Dr. Saridakis visited us every day, including weekends, and Dr. Jones or his nurse—sometimes both—came by frequently for in-depth assessments of pain management.  He is demonstrably passionate about CPNB pain management!

OBSERVATIONS:  Overall, our experience at Regional was as positive as any eleven-day hospital visit can be.  In retrospect, Emily and I are actually pleased that we were “stuck” there for her surgery and recovery.    Of all the positive aspects of our experience, the “discriminator” that we talk about—even to our primary physician–is the CPNB pain management.  In fact, I engaged Dr. Jones, off-campus, in a two-hour conversation about that technology, and I followed up with some internet research.  CPNB does not appear to be widespread, yet.

As founder and owner of a service business (see www.ensafe.com) that relies on “qualifications-based selection” for most consulting engineering contract awards, I’m very much aware of the importance of discriminators in evaluation processes.  It seems to me CPNB is a discriminator for Regional that should be promoted publicly, if you’re recruiting patients.

Emily and I thank the Regional team for the care she received there.

Very truly yours;

 

James N. Speakman, PhD, PE

 


 

Oct. 2, 2012

Dr. Jerry Jones:

I had colon surgery 27 years ago having to have a large portion of my colon removed. At that time, the only relief for pain was either pain shots or pain pills which still left a considerable amount of pain to be dealt with.

August 24, 2012, I had a bowel obstruction and had to have emergency exploratory surgery.  Dr. George Thomas did my surgery and did a wonderful job.  Dr. Jerry Jones was my anesthesiologist. There are no words that can describe what a wonderful doctor he is. He came into my room and talked with me and my husband to explain how he was going to manage my pain by blocking the nerves around my incision and administering a drug to numb the area.  After he did the procedure on me, I did not take a pain shot or pain pill.  I have a 12 inch abdominal incision and from a very painful surgery. Thanks to Dr. Jones my pain was very manageable.  I did not have to rely on other forms of medication for pain which left me more alert, helping me to get back up and around quicker.

I had never heard of this procedure before and didn’t realize how wonderful it was.   Dr. Jones checked on me everyday that I was in the hospital and came by before I went home to tell me how he would continue to manage my pain once I was home.  I went home with a pump that would continue to deliver this numbing medicine for 2 more days, with him giving me his phone number in the event I had a problem and needed to call him.

I can truly say there was a huge difference from my first surgery until this one.  I believe because of Dr. Jones and the procedure he used, my healing was much faster and less painful.

I have never met an anesthesiologist that cared about managing the pain of a patient after surgery the way that Dr. Jones did.  I can truly say that after this experience, if any of my family or I every have to have surgery, I will make sure to use Dr. George Thomas and Dr. Jones.Click here to hear Dr. Jones' recent interview on WNWS 101.5 FM.

Thank you so much for making my surgery less painful and more comfortable.

Sincerely,

Sandra Singleton

 This patient’s testimonial and enthusiasm lead to the radio interview on WNWS 101.5 that you can hear on the Media page!


 

My father had a motorcycle wreck 39 years ago that crushed his shoulder.  The Orthopaedic Surgeons at the time did the best that they could with what they had to work with.  He was in the hospital for weeks and off work for 6 months.  Recently, Dad began having problems with his shoulder and was advised to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Jackson, his name is Dr. Nord.

Dad’s surgery was scheduled for the 13th of March.  I was so worried about this surgery as he is now 39 years older,  being 69 now,  and remembering the pain he was in the last time, I was concerned about how well he would handle this much more complicated surgery.  To my surprise, Dad’s anesthesiologist Dr. Jerry Jones was also a huge player in this case.  Dr. Jones explained to Dad how he was going to manage his pain by blocking the nerves to the shoulder and administering a drug to numb the area, not one that would numb his mind such as morphine.  I had never heard of this type of technique before and didn’t totally trust that this would deliver as advised.  Again, to my surprise, not only did it deliver, my Dad experienced little if any shoulder pain at all.  Dr. Jones actually checked in on Dad, three times during his hospital stay.  How many anesthesiologists ever follow up on their patients!!  Dr. Jones explained again what was going on with regard to managing the pain.  He sent Dad home with a pump that would continue to deliver this numbing medicine for 3 more days.  Dr. Jones gave us his phone numbers, just in case we had a problem with the pump or the site and he called to make sure we were doing ok.  Now, I am totally floored, this just doesn’t happen.

In the medical field, praise is few and far between therefore, I had to take the time to say what I expected going in was that my Dad would be in severe pain for weeks, I am happy to say just the opposite happened, he has not experienced any shoulder pain, he is up and moving around, so much so I have to make sure he’s not doing something that would harm him.  There are no words to say how much my family and I appreciate the care that was given to my Dad.  I have only met one other anesthesiologist that actually CARED about managing the pain of a patient after surgery.  I can say that after this experience, if ever I or anyone in my family is in need of surgery, I will make it a point to use the surgeon that works with Dr. Jones.  That’s just how happy we are with this technique.  It WORKS! Risk versus reward is a no brainer.

Thank you,  Dr. Jones for caring enough to make such a huge DIFFERENCE in the success of this surgery.  I know we would not have had such an experience without you.  It’s exciting to think of a future for surgeries without pain.  What a concept!

Thanks again,

Dawn Boehler – daughter of Royce Rowland


 

March 25, 2012

Regional Hospital of Jackson
c/o  Administration
367 Hospital Blvd
Jackson, Tennessee

I would like to express my gratitude and deep appreciation for the outstanding care my Mother, Betty Wyatt received while in the care of Dr. Jerry Jones. My Mother had to have emergency surgery for a blockage in her bowel. She was cut open with a long incision. I am sure this would have been quite painful for Mom without Dr. Jones offering a new procedure of using novocaine to the area where her incisions were made. In short, this was a miracle in itself. The wonderful part of this new procedure to control the pain is neither my Mom or any of our family had to be concerned about a negative drug reaction to pain killers. With my Mom being 80 years old, this was very much a concern to our family. I was sitting with Mom most of the day time hours and a few nights, and Mom never complained about being in pain which was controlled by the new procedures offered by Dr. Jones.

I personally would use this procedure and feel very confident my pain would be relieved, based on my Mom’s experience. Plus, I have already been telling everyone about our wonderful experience with this new procedure to control pain.

Sincerely,

Donna Holmes

 


 

July 14, 2011
Regional Hospital of Jackson
Jackson, TN

This letter is in reference to my total knee replacement performed by Dr. John Masterson at Regional Hospital of Jackson on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011.

Dr. Jerry Jones, Jr was my anesthesiologist who gave me a femoral nerve block (besides general anesthesia) during my TKR. He did an outstanding job of controlling the pain associated with my total knee replacement that day and on the following days. It also allowed me to begin my physical therapy about 4 hours after surgery with Daniel, Director of Physical Therapy, at a very high degree of flexion (over 100 degrees). This was almost 3 times the flexion experienced a day after my previous knee replacement.

My husband and I both noted that my mental alertness was much better than for my other knee replacement four and a half years ago also by Dr. Masterson done at Jackson General Hospital. That time I was given morphine when I pushed the button periodically. My mental state remained low and anxiety level high during that period of time versus a much brighter mental status this time. Overall there was less discomfort and less distress throughout my three day stay. Dr Jones visited and continued to communicate with me about my pain and comfort levels every day during my stay.

Stan and I wish to commend your staff and especially recommend the use of femoral nerve block to lessen pain and speed recovery. My home health care was shortened based on the quick time I achieved 120 degrees of flexion and good healing. I am now attending Sports Plus of Lexington where they are also pleased that I was able to switch to outpatient PT in a speedy time frame.

Thanks for a great experience with the physical therapy and great nurses and doctors of Regional Hospital.

Sincerely,

Regina Stevens & Stan Stevens
Lexington, TN