From minor injuries to the most painful day of his life, retired Central Washington University administrator and professor Jim Pappas has relied on KVH Hospital for quality care and outstanding compassion.

He’s seen both up close and personal. Case in point: what happened when Pappas’s wife Denise fell critically ill.

The love of his life and the heart of her family, Denise was also afraid of doctors – so fearful that for several years she ignored symptoms of potential heart problems, repeatedly refusing pleas from her family to see a doctor.

Flash back to May 19, 2006. Unable to shake persistent shoulder and back pain that eventually spread to her chest and legs, and with her husband begging her to go to the hospital, Denise refused — right up until 11:30 p.m. when Pappas called 911. “I know now,” he says, “that she was dying before my eyes.”

Paramedics put her in the medic unit. Alarmed when he saw them struggling to get a heartbeat, Pappas walked circles in the front yard until the ambulance pulled away, then drove himself to KVH. Relief mingled with fear, he says. “I was so scared. But I thought she would finally get the help she needed.”

At the hospital, Pappas sat beside his unresponsive wife, holding her hand and talking to her as medical staff tried to restart her heart with defibrillation multiple times. The effort failed. “They did everything they could. They were just outstanding but Denise passed away in ER,” he says.

She was 67. They had been married 42 years. Stunned and numb with grief on what he calls “the worst day of my life,” Pappas sat beside her waiting for family to arrive, a nurse and doctor at his side until a pastor came in. “They didn’t leave me alone,” he says.

It’s not the only time Pappas has witnessed a level of care – and caring – that he finds unforgettable.

When a longtime friend dying of cancer was hospitalized, Pappas was a regular visitor – so regular, he says with a smile, that some staff assumed he was a son. The 97-year-old patient and his 94-year-old wife had been married 73 years. “What I saw was that everybody who came in, the guys as well as the gals, took time to talk to her,” says Pappas who at 77 is a walking testimonial to a hospital he believes in.

There’s good reason. Since arriving in Ellensburg from Chicago in 1980, he’s turned to KVH for care on multiple occasions. There was treatment for diverticulitis, emergency room visits for a fish hook that got stuck in his hand and a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop, treatment for a stomach ulcer and bacterial infection, endoscopies, colonoscopies, MRIs and X-rays, rotator cuff surgery and surgeries on his fingers and both knees.

“Dr. Dan Hiersche (an orthopedic specialist) repaired me so many times,” says Pappas who lauds a host of other providers. Among them: his longtime primary care physician Dr. Don Solberg whom he calls “cerebral and a straightforward professional with good bedside manners.”

Nurses consistently have been “absolutely professional and caring, showing interest in me, explaining what they were doing but most importantly answering my questions,” he adds.

While some people may think they’ll find better care at a bigger hospital, Pappas says, he’s found everything he’s needed in a comforting high quality setting close to home. “This hospital has served me well,” he says. “They identify what the problem is, address it, operate if they need to and you get it fixed. I’ve been very pleased.”

From phone calls to flowers, volunteer Judy Ragland – a gentle dynamo in a tiny five-foot-tall package – makes her mark on KVH Hospital.

If you’re scheduled for a mammogram, a CT scan or an ultrasound, there’s a good chance hers is the voice you hear on the phone reminding you of your appointment.

If you’re picking up flowers in the hospital gift shop, Ragland’s the one who provided the flowers and created the bouquet.

If a difficult day finds you pausing at the hospital’s Healing Garden, know that she’s the one who literally and figuratively helped plant the seeds that made it reality.

Suffice it to say that Ragland, who once planned a career in medicine, has no problem finding ways to make a difference as a KVH volunteer.

Raised on Bainbridge Island, she earned a pre-med degree at the University of Washington and was accepted to medical school. Love intervened and Ragland, married in her senior year of college, abandoned plans for medical school.

Four children and a divorce later, Ragland was a single mom working as a licensed vet tech at a large veterinary hospital in Issaquah. At the time, job and family responsibilities left little room for volunteering.

But that would change.

Ragland remarried. In 2000, she and her husband Frank came to Kittitas County and now make their home on a ranch in Thorp they’ve owned since 1989.

In 2002, Ragland signed on as a volunteer in the imaging department at KVH. “Back then, they were using film,” she recalls. “I knew how to do that from the veterinary hospital.”

With the department’s procedures now digitalized her role changed. Ragland, gifted with a kindly persona and a warm personality, is one of two volunteers who call patients to remind them of their appointments. Her shift is Monday morning.

“It’s definitely an outreach, especially now when so many things are done by machine,” Ragland says.

Karen Schock, director of volunteer services, calls Ragland “the consummate volunteer. She really gives from the heart,” Schock says.

Credited with helping initiate the effort to create the Healing Garden, Ragland asked the auxiliary for financial support, helped establish the garden and still helps maintain it. “The idea was that it would be a peaceful spot for someone needing a few quiet minutes and a little calm,” says Ragland who also has filled in as a Cancer Outreach Program volunteer when needed.

Ragland’s reward? “Just the idea that you’re contributing to the overall functioning of the hospital,” Ragland says. “From all I see, I think they do a great job. I really do. They’re very good in many places and they also know how to hand something off when that’s appropriate. You just hear raves from people about how much they care and how good the care is.”

She flashes a lively grin.

There is one problem, she says laughing. “The gals in imaging are always so appreciative for what I do,” she says. “When we’re traveling out of town, I always feel guilty on Mondays.”

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