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sjch.us•
Chuck Hoyt
will never forget
how his heart brought a normal day
to a screeching halt.
“I was driving and the pain was so intense that
I had to pull over,” Chuck recalls. He knew he
needed help—and he immediately thought of San
Joaquin Community Hospital (SJCH). “I was aware
that SJCH had a great heart program and was also
a faith-based hospital, so I knew that was where I
wanted to go.”
Fast, skilled and caring
“When I walked into the emergency room and said
‘heart,’ everyone sprang to action,” he says. “I
couldn’t believe how fast they started caring for me. It
was obvious everyone knew what they were doing.”
Chuck says he felt truly cared for too. “I was very
impressed with both the care and the nature of the
staff. There was an atmosphere of faith and prayer
throughout the hospital.”
His wife, Sandy, was grateful and impressed too.
“I saw how well they treated Chuck, and I figured
if I ever had to go to SJCH that I’d get the same
treatment.”
Like déjà vu
The Hoyts couldn’t have known they would need
SJCH’s expert heart care again—this time for
Sandy. It was New Year’s Day, 2015. Sandy, along
with her son, Travis, decided to enjoy the day off by
attending her grandson’s basketball tournament.
Afterwards, they met up with Chuck for a relaxing
dinner. But on the way into the restaurant, Sandy
began to sense that something was terribly wrong.
“When I got out of my son’s pickup, I had intense
pain in my arm, jaw and chest,” Sandy says. “At
first, I tried to pretend nothing was wrong. But after
taking one look at my food, I thought, ‘I need to go
to the hospital.’”
When Sandy told Chuck her symptoms, he knew
exactly what was happening. “The symptoms were
classic, so I was absolutely sure she was having
a heart attack,” he says. “Without hesitation, I
told her, ‘We’re going to San Joaquin Community
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