Nurses are the hands, hearts, and brains behind quality healthcare and St. Charles Prineville's ER has the very best. I am a 65-year-old well-nourished male who, it turned out, had a heart attack in the middle of the night, a cliché for sure. The care I received from Prineville St. Charles ER staff on the morning after was anything but cliché, it was in a word, exceptional. The ER Doc on duty that morning initially indicated that the first blood draw was "indeterminate". Two hours later, after the CAT scan ruled out a blood clot and the second blood draw results came back, the same ER Doc said he was now shipping me down to St. Charles Bend for an angioplasty without explanation of how my diagnosis had escalated from "indeterminate" for a heart attack to the emergent need for angioplasty. Did I mention that I had my dog in the car? Given this fact and incongruity of the ER Doc's two diagnoses I decided to forego any further diagnosis from this particular ER Doctor and seek a second opinion and get my dog situated in the event I did need an angiogram/plasty. I told a nurse I was checking out and to provide whatever forms I need to sign absolving them of any liability. A few minutes later, Maria came in and said she was concerned about my health and my decision to check out saying she would endeavor to get my dog situated. I explained it wasn't the primary reason for checking out. It was the wildly divergent and imprecise diagnosis that had morphed from "indeterminate" for a heart attack to being shipped off for an angiogram/plasty without a clear explanation. Maria left and returned minutes later with the House Nursing Supervisor and the two of them explained calmly and clearly that my first blood test had elevated Troponin, clearly indicating I had indeed had a heart attack and I was still in the process of having a heart attack, the need for the angioplasty was real and urgent. I thanked them and dropped all plans to do anything but get on the bus later that afternoon that delivered me to Bend where St. Charles top tier cardiac team took over my care, installing a stent the next morning and informing me that no lasting damage was done to my heart. It is not an exaggeration to say that Maria very possibly saved my life and certainly saved me from further damage to my heart.