Car procession staged to support Newport Hospitals injured chief of surgery – newportri.com

The people who work with him cant wait to get him back.

MIDDLETOWN Close to 100 cars, many decked out with signs and balloons, formed a procession from the Newport Vineyards to the Island Drive home of Dr. James Valente late Saturday afternoon.

As the drivers and passengers went by the house with open windows, they waved to Valente and his family and called out expressions of love and support for the chief of surgery at Newport Hospital, who was seriously injured in a car accident just over two weeks ago.

Middletown police were stationed at traffic lights along the route and at the turn from East Main Road onto Island Drive to keep the long line of cars flowing as other traffic was stopped. It was a stunning display of the esteem that Valente is held in by the many people whose lives have been impacted during his career.

"I am totally overwhelmed," said Dr. Valente, who was not told beforehand about the surprise mass visit. "Im touched beyond words. It brought tears to my eyes to think that so many people have thoughts and prayers for my recovery. I never imagined that something like this would happen in my life."

"He is a fabulous guy," said Tracy Full, a nurse in Valentes office at the hospital who organized the procession. "I used to work with him in the operating room. We all love him. Hes funny and we miss him a lot."

Near the head of the procession was Dr. Bradford Gray, who is a partner of Valente and Dr. Julia Tassinari. All three doctors are general surgeons with offices in the hospitals Borden Carey Building.

"He is a fantastic surgeon and a fantastic human being," Gray said. "He cares more about his patients and family than any other doctor I know."

"He is an amazing guy and has a heart of gold," Gray added. "He would do anything for his patients. I couldnt say enough good things about him."

A reporter asked Valente how the accident occurred on that Friday, April 3.

"I was at the light leaving Stop & Shop on West Main Road in Middletown," he said. "The light turned green and I turned left onto West Main going towards Oliphant Lane. The young man who hit me was traveling south on West Main and went through the red light and T-boned me."

After being hit full broadside like that, Valente was rushed to Newport Hospital for initial treatment and then transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was placed in the trauma intensive care unit.

He had six broken ribs on the left side of his body and one broken rib on the right side that punctured his right lung, causing it to collapse. He was bleeding from the spleen in his abdomen.

"Old school, they would have just taken out the spleen," Valente said.

He praised the two radiologists who spent more than three hours inserting a catheter and putting a coil into a spleen artery.

"They spent a long time making sure the bleeding stopped," Valente explained. "The things radiologists are capable of doing is amazing."

After four days, he was sent back home to be cared for by his wife, Claire, who is a nurse.

The people who work with him cant wait to get him back.

"He was such a big lead in the COVID-19 response at Newport Hospital," said Nancy Tiska, a nurse in the operating room. "To have him taken out and sidelined like this is really sad. We all love him. Hes funny, respectful, and a team player. Whenever people were afraid, he would say, Dont worry. Im going to be with you through the whole thing. "

Casey Wade, a nurse supervisor, like so many of Valentes colleagues, expressed similar sentiments.

"He is a great doctor," she said. "He always takes time to explain everything, not only to the patients, but to the nursing staff. My favorite thing about him is that he always does a drawing of the anatomy to explain a procedure."

"Ive worked with him at Newport Hospital for a long time," said nurse Theresa Nunes. "Hes a wonderful guy."

"Im lucky to have survived the crash to begin with," Valente said. "I have been blessed by this recovery."

He is someone who seems to always see the glass is half full.

"Since the accident, there has been such an outpouring of love and support from friends, colleagues, people from the neighborhood, my wife and family so many people," Valente said.

He and his wife have two adults sons, Kevin and Andrew, who live in Brooklyn and San Diego, and a daughter, Kaitlyn, who lives in Greenville with her husband, Steve.

The Valentes also adopted two disabled children that still live with them: Rosie, who has cerebral palsy and requires care 24/7, and Mari, who is 21 and pretty "self-sufficient," Valente said.

Kaitlyn and Steve are now staying in the family home so Kaitlyn can help take care of Rosie and Claire has more time to take care of her husband.

"Its a house full of love," Valente said.

He and his wife are originally from New Jersey, but Valente went to Tufts University Medical School in the Boston area and then spent 25 years in the Navy as a general surgeon.

He completed his first tour of duty during the first Persian Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq, and was later stationed on an aircraft carrier that came to Newport in the 1990s.

His final Navy transfer was to the Navy Clinic of Naval Station Newport in 2002. He did all his surgical work at Newport Hospital, so he got to know the staff there and the community well. When he retired from the Navy in 2015, he easily made the transition to civilian practice at the hospital.

"I have two great partners," he said. "I love working at Newport Hospital. Its a great community hospital and Im proud of it."

The doctor had a final thought about Saturdays demonstration of how much that community values him.

"Ill never forget it," he said.

sflynn@newportri.com

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Car procession staged to support Newport Hospitals injured chief of surgery - newportri.com