My spouse recently had major surgery at UCHealth Cherry Creek, which was also her very first…read moresurgery and exposure to general anesthesia. While some aspects of her care were excellent, our overall experience was deeply distressing due to the conduct of certain post‑operative nursing staff.
First, I want to acknowledge the providers who delivered outstanding care. Dr. Bouchard was excellent: clear, thorough, and compassionate in both pre‑operative and post‑operative communication. The attending resident was likewise excellent, demonstrating strong clinical skill and a respectful bedside manner. These physicians gave us confidence in the procedure and took our concerns seriously.
Unfortunately, the quality of care in the post‑operative area did not reflect the same standard. After surgery, my spouse was slow to wake from anesthesia and in excruciating pain. While she was still groggy and doing her best to communicate her pain, one of the nurses was noticeably impatient, dismissive, and appeared focused on the fact that it was near closing time rather than on my spouse's condition. When adjusting the bed, this nurse repeatedly moved the head of the bed up and down very quickly, causing my spouse to scream in pain. There was no apparent attempt to pause, slow down, or modify her approach in response to my spouse's obvious distress.
A second nurse was also rude and unhelpful until one of the anesthesiologist helped my wife. At a time when my spouse was barely emerging from anesthesia and struggling with severe pain, this nurse asked, "I don't know what else to do for you, what else is going to help you?" The burden was effectively placed on a post‑operative patient, rather than the nurse using her clinical expertise to assess, problem‑solve, and advocate for appropriate pain management and supportive measures. It was especially alarming that this nurse then suggested that my spouse might need to be transported by ambulance and admitted to a hospital, framed in a way that felt more like a threat or a way to move her out of the recovery area than a thoughtful clinical recommendation.
From a patient‑centered care and safety perspective, this experience was unacceptable. My spouse was vulnerable - just out of surgery, in severe pain, and slow to wake from anesthesia, yet she was made to feel like an inconvenience. The tone, rushing, lack of empathy, and apparent prioritization of closing time over patient comfort and safety were completely inconsistent with the standard of compassionate care we expected from UCHealth. If we had known this was how the post‑operative nursing care would be handled, we would have requested a different facility.
Patients undergoing major surgery, especially for the first time, deserve nurses who are clinically competent, patient, and empathetic, and who respond to pain and delayed emergence from anesthesia with professionalism and care - not frustration, dismissiveness, or implied pressure to leave because it is near closing time.
I would strongly encourage UCHealth to review staffing, training, and culture in the post‑operative area at this location, to ensure that other patients and families do not have to endure the same experience.
