Home Is Where Your Heart Should Be When It Comes To Medical Issues, Says Lovell

Weatherford, OK, Emily Sims, Associate Editor

Jim Lovell truly believes home is where your heart should be when it comes to medical issues. When his doctor in Oklahoma City recommended he had an imaging test done on his heart, Lovell requested the test be done in Weatherford. Lovell said he knew Weatherford Regional Hospital was quite capable of conducting the test; however, his doctor did not have quite as much faith in the small-town hospital. “I told him I didn't believe they had better equipment in Oklahoma City than in Weatherford,” Lovell. “I honestly did not feel there was any need to go to Oklahoma City to run additional tests when these tests can be done here.”

Lovell said it all began when he began feeling a tingling sensation in his arm. He had a checkup just four days earlier and everything was fine so his doctor recommended he take nitroglycerine.
Just a few days later he started experiencing the tingle again. This time he checked into the Weatherford Regional Hospital emergency room. Weatherford doctors recommended he go to the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. When he arrived in Oklahoma City, CAT scan tests revealed he had a slight oxygen deficiency and the arteries going into his heart where slightly restricted.
After 15 minutes of treatment his oxygen levels went back to normal. He had two stints placed in the artery leading to his heart and stayed in the Oklahoma City Heart Hospital for two days.

Not long after he returned home, he called his doctor in Oklahoma City to make an appointment for further tests. Lovell said he noticed his doctor had a rotation in the area, and he requested the imaging tests be done at Weatherford Regional Hospital. “(Weatherford Regional Hospital) has put a lot of effort and money into the equipment to compete with Oklahoma City,” he said. “Having some familiarity with what our hospital has to offer, I knew we are cutting edge.”

Later, when Lovell’s doctor visited Weatherford Regional Hospital he had to agree the tests were much better quality than he expected. “He said he could not believe Weatherford could have even better equipment than Oklahoma City,” Lovell said. “He said Weatherford’s hospital was equal to or even better than any in the state.”

Grover Taylor, Director of Weatherford Regional Hospital’s Radiology Department, said one of the main goals when constructing the multi-million dollar hospital was to offer state of the art equipment to patients. “We really strive to make our hospital patient-friendly,” Taylor said. “We are more likely to be able to work around a patient’s schedule and make it more convenient for them than a larger hospital (in OKC). We are really trying to keep up with the latest technology and make it readily available to our customers. Our costs are also very competitive and it saves our patients a trip outside of town.”

Lovell said he felt confident in his decision to stay in Weatherford and he will always opt to have his tests conducted locally if possible. “We need to get rid of that myth that we have to run to Oklahoma City anytime we need to have a test done,” he said. “It’s true when they say home is where your heart should be and I think Weatherford Regional Hospital has worked to make that a true statement.”