Monday marked a monumental day for many. Oswego Health could resume elective surgeries, and their patient Ben Jerred received much needed care.

“I was a little bit nervous, but they completely put me at ease,” said Jerred.

This surgery was different than most because Jerred didn’t have his wife, Brittney, by his side.

“It’s a little nerve-wrecking when your husband is there and you can’t be with him,” said Brittney.

Although Brittney couldn’t be in the room, she was still there waiting, but on the other end of the phone.

“I wasn’t excited about leaving him there alone, but they kept in good touch,” said Brittney. “There were three or four contact points where they were texting me or calling me, telling me how he was doing.”

The staff created a team of nurses responsible for keeping the lines of communication open between patients and loved ones. They’re called surgical navigators.

“We come out to the car, do a screening, take their temperature,” said Amy Conzone, an Oswego Health nurse and surgical navigator. “Let their family member know or whoever’s with them know the process and give them our phone number, get their contact information, and we update them throughout the day.”  

“It was extremely helpful because I didn’t have to think at all, ‘I hope Brittney isn’t worrying about anything’ because I knew they were keeping in better touch with her than I probably would have,” said Jerred.

About 40 patients have used this service so far.

“I think it makes us feel better because then we know their person knows that they’re okay,” said Conzone. “It’s very scary and you feel alone, and we don’t want people to feel alone.”


Instead, they’re providing some peace of mind when people need it the most.