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The Accidental Patient
This Meridian psychologist had no intention of becoming an ER patient. But when
a crushing accident landed him in the Emergency Department of Ocean Medical Center,
his estimation of the hospital reached impressive heights.
When Brett J. Prince, Ph.D., talks
about his recent car accident,
he is descriptive and chooses his
words carefully: "In a matter of an
instant, my car was crushed by the
impact of a 5,300-pound truck."
As a neuropsychologist who is specially
trained in forensic and rehabilitative
medicine, Dr. Prince knows all too
well the devastation that accidents
of this magnitude can cause.
Though restrained by his seat belt
and surrounded by the air bags that
deployed upon impact, he was
nevertheless hurt in the accident.
When the ambulance arrived to the
scene in Lakewood, Dr. Prince insisted
that they take him to a Meridian Health
hospital, and so he embarked on his
first experience with Ocean Medical
Center in Brick. "A lot of people don’t
realize they can request to be taken
to a certain hospital. In many cases,
the emergency responders will follow
your wishes," he imparts.
"I’d of course heard of Ocean
Medical Center because of the many
patients I see at Jersey Shore University
Medical Center’s Trauma Center,"
Dr. Prince continues. "I knew it as
part of Meridian, but I had never been
there before that day" — and certainly
not as a patient.
A Fabulous First Impression
En route to Ocean Medical Center’s
Emergency Department, Dr. Prince
was in severe pain as he spoke on the
telephone with his fiancée, a physician
who is working on her fellowship in
infectious disease at Tufts University
in New England. "As the emergency
personnel did their jobs to stabilize me,
she kept me calm. The event couldn’t
help but bring back memories of the
head-on collision I’d been in as a
teenager," he recalls.
Once at the hospital, the Emergency
Department team attended to
Dr. Prince’s injuries swiftly and
expertly. "I was instantly
impressed by the care
provided by the physician
in the department that
day, Gina Maniar, D.O.
She is obviously a highly
skilled physician with a
demeanor that puts her
patients at ease. Everyone
involved in my diagnosis
and treatment at Ocean
was fabulous. I tell everyone I can about my great
experience at one of the area’s bestkept
secrets: Ocean Medical Center."
From the cleanliness of the facility
to the prompt attention provided by
the patient representatives and the
compassionate care he received
from the cardiac and imaging staff,
Dr. Prince has the highest of praise for
the hospital: "I can’t say enough about
how wonderful the care was at Ocean
Medical Center. Everyone knew their
role, and they carried out their duties
very professionally and very kindly —
not only in providing emergency
treatment to me, but to all the other
patients I saw there as well. As an
observer to everything else going
on around me that day, I was
very impressed."
An Appreciative Patient
Dr. Prince has since recovered from his
injuries, which included two fractured
ribs, cervical and lumbar sprain/strains,
and an abnormal EKG, which indicated
a potential cardiac contusion. Fortunately,
this wasn’t the case for Dr. Prince, who
left the hospital a very satisfied patient.
"My experience there really opened my
eyes to all that Ocean Medical Center
offers and also to the very personal,
caring way that the team there interacts
with patients and with one another,"
he concludes.
Today, Dr. Prince is back to his full
and happy life, providing health care
to area residents in need and planning
his upcoming wedding.
 – Lynne Nouvel
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