Author: Stephany Chalberg

As they had done so many times before, firearm enthusiasts Jennifer Pierson and her husband, Patrick were enjoying late-afternoon target practice with some family friends on their rural Wyoming property last August.

“Patrick’s a retired police officer, so he’s the gun person. When I had met him, I had never shot anything or had any desire,” Jennifer says. “We lived in New York, so it wasn’t like it was accessible. And he started getting me into it, teaching me how to shoot, what to do, what’s right, what’s wrong. He got me my own pistols and revolver. We have 40 acres outside Moorcroft, so we have a shooting range. And we go out there with all of our guests.”

Jennifer, a professional photographer, had set up some distance behind and to the left of a visiting friend to capture video as the friend tried her hand at a replica of an old west-style, .45-caliber Colt revolver. The first shot went off without issue. When the friend pulled the trigger to fire a second round, however, the cartridge discharged erroneously, causing an explosion that sent the housing of the revolver’s cylinder on an improbable backwards and sideways trajectory — and directly through the inner portion of Jennifer’s left calf muscle. “All of a sudden I felt burning, and I was like, ‘Ow, ow, ow.’ I look down and there’s just blood everywhere. So I start saying, ‘Babe, I’m shot. I’m shot,’ because in my head, my friend took the shot and I got hit.”

Improbably, Jennifer had the presence of mind to keep recording, even as blood gushed from her leg. She has since watched the recording several times. “I’m bleeding bad, like arterial blood. Thinking, ‘I’m about to bleed out here.’ But I was perfectly calm, saying, ‘I just need a chair and towel,’” she recalls. The group contacted emergency services and Patrick applied a makeshift tourniquet. Due to their rural location, however, a tense wait ensued. “The response time is usually half an hour. We have a town called Pine Haven — it’s not far from us. They got a full EMS outfit, and they got to us within like 10-15 minutes.” 

Initially, Jennifer was driven to Sundance, where staff evaluated her injury and quickly determined that they were ill-equipped to adequately care for Jennifer’s wound. There was concern that she may lose her leg, so Life Flight was summoned to get Jennifer to Rapid City Hospital as soon as possible. “The doctors told me that if the metal hit anywhere in, like, my upper thigh up, I’d be dead. It would have killed me. So if it had to hit my calf, I’m okay with that. Because it could have been so much worse.”

Arriving at Rapid City Hospital via helicopter, Jennifer underwent emergency surgery. “The hole was big, and that’s why they couldn’t close it,” Jennifer recalls. “There was nothing there to close. And it was so deep, it was down to the bone. There were chunks (of flesh and viscera) on the ground and in my jeans. And the surgeon’s like, ‘We need to get in there and clean the wound up.’” Even though the damage was extensive, Jennifer’s leg was saved and the prognosis was fairly positive, all things considered. “I lost a vein, and they cauterized a bunch of arteries and stuff like that, and just cleaned up all the ragged edges.”

The doctors fit the wound with a vacuum-assisted closure device and discharged a bandaged and traumatized Jennifer after just two days in the hospital. However, even with the wound vacuum sucking gunk from her calf to help it heal from the inside out, Jennifer’s injury was going to require frequent attention. It would need to be cleaned and redressed frequently to prevent infection. 

After three unsatisfactory — and painful — visits for treatments elsewhere, Jennifer sought out a second option, and set an appointment with Wound and Ostomy Care at Spearfish Hospital.

“The first day in Spearfish was life-changing the way it was so different. It was a relaxed attitude — they were concerned with my leg — but it was, like, friendly, and sterile,” Jennifer recalls, with a laugh. “And so we decided that was where we’re going to be. It was three days a week for the first eight weeks.”

Ostomy care nurses Stefani Gillette, RN, Danielle Sauer, RN, Marie Subiate, RN and Jessie Young, RN, and Patient Access Specialist Patty Schulz worked together to provide a level of care that went beyond mere remedy. For Jennifer, it felt personalized. For example, the nurses often asked about Jeniffer’s weekend plans, then remembered what they were and followed up to see how things went at the next appointment. “They’re good people. I really adored them. And it just reinforced that this is the only place I’m going to go,” says Jennifer. 

Having committed herself to Spearfish Wound Care, Jennifer became a familiar figure at the clinic. “I got to know these people, and I was sad when it was over, partially because I never thought I’d get to this point of it being over, but partially because these people are now family.”

So touched by the nurses and staff at Spearfish Wound Care was Jennifer that when the waiting room was being repainted and the topic of decor came up, Jennifer offered some prints of her photography to be displayed on the walls. The staff at Wound Care readily accepted and many examples of Jennifer’s landscape and nature works now adorn the walls at the clinic. “I think I ended up bringing in maybe 10, 30 by 50 prints and then smaller ones of varying pictures and sizes and everything. And they told me how it brightened up their room and their day just seeing them.”

By mid-November, Jennifer had completed her last treatment and had recovered remarkably well. “Other than the lack of calf strength, it’s fine. There’s still a pretty big divot. It’s always going to be a divot. It looks like something took a bite out of my leg. The doctors said it might fill in a little bit, but you can’t replace the tissue that was in there,” she says. However, Jennifer found that working with the nurses at wound care helped heal more than her injury, it healed her spirit. And though Jennifer went through as harrowing an experience as imaginable, it underscores how happenstance can bring people together in unexpected ways and how unfortunate circumstances can create lasting, meaningful and healing bonds.

Story: Kory Lanphear

A solemn hush falls over the hallways of the 8th floor at Rapid City Hospital. As a gurney draped in a custom-made American flag wheels along the corridor, the familiar funeral bugle call of Taps rings out and a handful of assembled Caregivers stand in silent reverence to the passing train. Under the flag rests a recently deceased veteran of the United States military, who is being escorted to a final rest. 

Known as a Hero Walk, this somber ceremony has become a familiar sight at Rapid City Hospital. The escort is a final tribute Monument Health pays to acknowledge and celebrate the service of veteran patients who spend their final days under the care of one of our hospitals. About 35 deceased service members have been so honored in the last 12 months. Surviving family members are often on-hand, but occasionally the ad-hoc ceremony is just the Caregivers present on the ward paying final respects.

As Michael Morford, Human Resources Business Partner relates: “A significant catalyst for launching the Hero Walks was a particular incident that was brought to the attention of myself and Jeff Mengenhausen (former Senior Director of HVI) back in 2014. We were made aware of a dying veteran who was alone in the hospital. Another local veteran made a point to come to the hospital to pay his respects to the individual – even though he didn’t know the ill veteran very well – because he didn’t want his brethren to die alone.” 

Based on this stirring demonstration of fidelity, Michael and Jeff were inspired to create a similar way for Monument Health to recognize all veteran patients in their final days. “Hence what I believe to be the trigger for the Hero Walk initiative,” Michael says.

“Hero Walks are only done in Rapid City Hospital. They are an opportunity to show appreciation and respect for veterans who have served when they pass away. It is also a way of showing that honor and appreciation to the veteran’s family members,” says Jason Callahan, Manager of Security at Rapid City Hospital.

The Hero Walk is emblematic of organizational values that go deeper than to just simply care for patients. It affords those brave souls one last acknowledgment of their dedication to protecting our way of life. 

Respect is a core principle that all Caregivers share here at Monument Health. When we couple that respect with our priority to have an impact on our communities, the beacon of our light shines into the hearts of our patients and suffuses them with the trust that we will always demonstrate the utmost respect. We strive not just to treat our patients and restore them to health whenever possible, but to actively engage in their comfort and wellbeing, even unto its expiration, as a matter of our collective character. 

Our patients have come to rely on this strength of character, sometimes right up until their very last moments. And sometimes beyond.

Story: Kory Lanphear
Photo: Robert Slocum

Nicholas Goodhope, M.D., PharmD, Infectious Disease, may be newly hired at Monument Health, but he’s not new to Rapid City Hospital, nor is he new to the area. A Sturgis local, Dr. Goodhope always wanted to practice medicine and he always wanted to do so in the Black Hills.

His homecoming is a matter of well-laid plans coming to fruition. 

His return, though, brings a unique and increasingly common situation. Dr. Goodhope was once under the indirect tutelage of Matthew Simmons, M.D., FAAN, Neurologist at Rapid City Hospital and Associate Dean for University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine.

“Clinical training is hands-on at the bedside in various clinical settings around the state of South Dakota. We have a campus here, so we have up to 15 students per year for two years. Some of them are from the Rapid City area, some of them are from elsewhere. And I oversee their educational program,” says Dr. Simmons.

Dr. Goodhope is a graduate of that program and, after further training and education in Boston and Minneapolis, he now comes back to Monument Health as a colleague to Dr. Simmons.

That’s the point, Dr. Simmons points out. “That idea of staying here as graduates of University of South Dakota is a really critical piece of our mission. Just recently, I looked at leadership at Monument Health, for example – medical staff leaders, department chairs, members of the board – and our graduates are represented in all of those areas. Our students have come back and taken leadership roles, which have been critical to the health system’s success,” says Dr. Simmons. 

Dr. Goodhope is an example par excellence of that mission, as even in medical school he developed an interest in instruction. “Nick’s got a pharmacology background on top of his medical degree, so we put him to work a little bit in terms of assisting students that might need a little extra help in certain areas. So he did some teaching himself,” beams Dr. Simmons. 

Indeed, teaching is something that could unfold as part of Dr. Goodhope’s long-term plans. “Clinical practice, education and research are kind of like the triumvirate of medicine. And I really have a passion for clinical work and education.” Dr. Goodhope says.

Part of that teaching component may come through an upcoming pipeline program with the goal of reaching middle or high school students interested in pursuing a medical career. Although still in the very early planning stages, perhaps the program will provide the opportunity for Dr. Goodhope and Dr. Simmons’ relationship to reach an apotheosis wherein the student who became the colleague will also pay that experience forward to the next generation in kind.

Story: Kory Lanphear
Photos: Bob Slocum