FORT STEWART, Ga.  –   The daily joy of a family meal turned into an emergency room visit, surgery, and an overnight hospital stay for retired Sergeant First Class Damien Dunn, a Soldier for Life and Winn Army Community Hospital beneficiary.

“I’m eating dinner, and I was feeling pain in my kidneys,” Dunn said. “I didn’t know what it was and I tried to let that passover, but my wife said just go to the ER.”

Dunn did the next morning, arriving at Winn’s emergency department. The healthcare team sprang into action, triaging him and charting the way ahead.

“They admitted me, ran some blood tests, ran a CT scan, then they figured out that my appendix was possibly ruptured, so I was going to have emergency surgery,” Dunn said.

Dr. Christina McCain, a general surgeon at Winn, was the doctor who performed Dunn’s appendectomy. She told him “we’re going to take care of you,” and Dunn said those words were comforting.

“I’d never had any surgeries before, but from ER into pre-op…I had full faith and confidence,” he said.

Assessing a patient’s condition quickly and determining the best treatment plan is critical, McCain said, especially in a situation like Dunn’s. Equally important, though, is establishing the rapport and trust Dunn found comforting, something McCain does with everyone she sees.

“I have always treated my patients like I would treat my own family,” she said.

After the ED prepared Dunn for the handoff, he noticed how smoothly the transition went. The teamwork between the units was remarkable.

“They moved as one cohesive unit,” he said. “They passed information from one person to another and then following up, making sure that post surgery that I was being take care of, whether taking vitals, making sure my meds are being taken care of, and checking blood pressure. They definitely have a real good team here.”

Dunn met certified registered nurse anesthesiologist Capt. Joseph Mazzarella at the pre-op area after being moved from the ED. Mazzarella and his team had been preparing to go home after reaching the end of scheduled surgeries for the day. That changed when they got word Dunn was in need of emergency surgery.

“We immediately did what we always did, go into action and get ready to go,” Mazzarella said. “We have a multidisciplinary team here at Winn to ensure the transitions from emergency room to the pre op area, to the operating room and to the inpatient care ward, are all smooth. We're a small hospital here, or community hospital, so it's very important that we all know each other. We're one team here.”

Before leaving the ED, an anesthesia teammate went to Dunn for a pre-check. Once he arrived at pre-op, Mazzarella did more checks, determining what levels of anesthesia were appropriate for Dunn factoring in specific things that came up as they talked.

“Mr. Dunn he looks like a big, tough guy, but when you talk to him, just soft, spoken, very friendly,” Mazzarella said.”He's had a 20 year experience in the army. I heard all about some of his experiences in the military, how that's affected him, and just taking that into consideration, I gave him the best care.”

The care Dunn received continued after he was discharged. McCain reached out to him, and he also took an opportunity to visit with Mazzarella. All those interactions gave him “a nice warm and fuzzy,” and built a camaraderie.

“Once a Soldier, always a Soldier,” Dunn said. “I felt like a tight knit family has been built. Moving forward, I’ll always keep that mindset, that I’ll always be taken care of, and know that my sisters and brothers will always be taken care of, whether in uniform or out of uniform.”

Knowing Winn is ready to take care of retirees like him while also ensuring the health of warfighters is reassuring to Dunn. His experience showed him the hospital goes above and beyond, not only in his case, but all beneficiaries, he said.

“I’m definitely grateful,” Dunn said. “I wouldn’t second guess coming back here for any treatments.”

With more than 30,000 Soldiers and other beneficiaries in the immediate are served by Winn, providing care for all of them ensures the Army’s lethality, Mazzarella said.

“Readiness starts with the warfighter,” he said. “Whether it’s here at Winn or downrange in an austere environment—we’re always ready to provide the best care.”

As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, McCain understands the need to provide healthcare for warfighters, retirees and families. It’s an honor to provide care at Winn, she said, both for retirees who made sacrifices for our freedoms and to keep warfighters reassured about their families’ health so they stay focused one the mission.

“They deserve exceptional care and I am humbled to be a part of this superb care team,” McCain said.

Col. Margaret Berryman, Winn director and Fort Stewart U.S. Army Medical Department Activity commander, echoed the importance of ensuring readiness by providing healthcare for the warfighters while also carrying for families and retirees like Dunn.

"Taking care of our retirees and families is a vital part of what we do,” Berryman said “It's a key part of our mission of warfighter readiness. Our Soldiers need to know their families are receiving safe, quality care so they can focus on their training and deployment. We owe our retirees this same level of commitment, honoring their service by providing them with the best healthcare."