By Jon Moskin
John Matulich never heard of the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living (the Campus). And after a precarious neck surgery, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to coming. “I was in the hospital for about 5 or 6 days and then my case manager calls and says that Medicare is not going to cover it anymore and that I would have to go to a different facility, or we’d have to pay out of pocket,” John said. “But we heard all kinds of rumors and horror stories about these kinds of places.”
Worried, John sent his son on a scouting mission to find out what he could about the campus. Ever dutiful, his son scoped the place out. “So, he goes there, and he called me and said, ‘Pop, these people know what they’re doing. You’re going to be comfortable here.’” But John wasn’t fully sold yet. He had some conditions. “I said, ‘Make sure I have a private room. And make sure I have a TV. And make sure that they have cable, and I have all my ESPN channels.’” With the football playoffs in full swing, this was non-negotiable. Finally, his demands met, John said he’d give it a shot.
“So, the transport company comes, puts me on a gurney, takes me over there and I’m still hesitant. And they’re wheeling me through the hallways and up to my room and I see my dinner on a tray by the TV and I’m thinking to myself: I don’t like this. This doesn’t look right. And my wife, Beth says, ‘Just stop it. Let’s give it a try.’ So, I said I would.” He took a breath, steeled himself, and tried the food…
He hated it.
“It just didn’t look right to me.” Apologetic, he told the woman who brought it that he didn’t want to be difficult or wasteful so he would just order something from Door Dash.
“The truth is I’m a picky eater.” – John Matulich
The next day John gets a knock on the door. “A couple of nutritionists came in and start talking to me. And I let them know that I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy. And they said they’d try to help me out. And I felt bad because I could see that they were trying. In fact, everybody was. So, the next meal comes, and I got a beef hot dog. And it was pretty darn good. Actually, it was one of the better hot dogs I ever had… And a couple of days go by, and I’m really settled in and I’m saying to myself, I like this place. This place is nice. The people here are some of the nicest I ‘ve met in the medical field. And one lady in particular, who had nothing to do with taking care of me other than cleaning my room, her name was Carol. And let me tell you, Beth and I fell in love with her. Her personality and… she was so accommodating… And I started telling my family that this place is unreal.”
“This place is nice. The people here are some of the nicest I‘ve met in the medical field.” – John Matulich
John was equally effusive in his praise for the healthcare he received. “The medical people did a lot of work to learn about me, always making sure I had my medicine on time… The physical therapy people, the occupational people, they all took fabulous care of me. And it just felt… first class. And I told my friends and family that I felt bad for saying that I didn’t want to go there. Because by the time I came home, I knew I was wrong. They spoiled me. And I’d come here again in a heartbeat.”
John is back in San Rafael now, continuing to heal. He’s back with Beth, their horse, their dogs and all the comforts of home. But he is comforted that he has another “home” just a few miles down the road.