Grateful Patients and Families Program

MGHS Physician makes first gift to Grateful Patients and Families Program

Catherine Brzezinski holds a special place in the heart of Dr. Joe Brzezinski, a pediatrician at Pediatric Specialists and on staff at Marquette General Hospital.

Catherine is Joe’s mom.

When she needed to undergo sinus surgery this past summer,Dr. Brzezinski insisted his mother see the finest physicians and receive the best medical care in the state.

So, he encouraged her to make a seven-hour trip to Marquette General.

Catherine Brzezinski and Dr. Joe Brzezinski

“She lives downstate (Kingston), and I could have sent her to other centers,” Dr. Brzezinski explains. “Yet, personally and professionally, the care here is as good if not better than any of those institutions.”

The quality of care afforded his 70-year-old mother was so superb that Dr. Brzezinski offered inaugural gifts to the newly launched Grateful Patients and Families Program, an initiative of the Marquette General Foundation.

Dr. Brzezinski has gifted $750 to the Respiratory Care Department at MGHS to honor otolaryngologist Dr. David Heichel, anesthesiologist Dr. Matthew Supron and respiratory therapist/shift supervisor Godfrey Heitmeier.

“Dr. Heichel was very understanding of my mother’s condition and took exceptional care of her,” Dr. Brzezinski said. “We were very impressed with the outcome.”

Dr. Supron and Heitmeier played equally important roles in Catherine’s stay at MGH.

“My mother has a complex medical situation with severe asthma, and Dr. Supron did a nice job with his technical ability with anesthesia,” he said. “Godfrey was very reassuring to my mother during her treatments. He did a lot to help her relieve her anxiety.”

Dr. Brzezinski said he’s happy to contribute to the Grateful Patients and Families Program.
“When I first heard about this program,” he said, “my first reaction was that I could give these specialists a gift certificate to eat somewhere. But, I think they will be far more appreciative of this recognition and funds dedicated.”

For more information on the Grateful Patients and Families Program, call
906-225-6914/1-866-906-6914 (toll free).