"Friday, Sept 19th while driving home I started having chest pains with pain in my shoulder into my arm and upper back. This pain was different & more intense pain than I had ever felt. It was so intense I was scared I was having a heart attack so headed toward the hospital but ready to call an ambulance if I felt I couldnt drive any longer. I drove up to the new ER entrance and saw a nurse waiting with a patient & asked for her help. She did nothing but told me to see if security would help move my car. No one was there so I tried to park in the garage but I could not breathe so I drove back and hit the button to get assistance. Then I sat in the car really scared right now! Finally, a young man dressed as a nurse came out and went to get a wheelchair for me to take me inside. He said he would get my car moved for me. He pushed me inside the door and left me at the back of the line of at least 10 people waiting to check in. I waited and waited and some nice gentleman in back of me help me move the wheelchair up each time the person in front of me checked in. While waiting in line a woman came in with her daughter whose blood pressure had shot up really high and her doctor told her to come there to meet him. When she went ahead in the line to relay this message to the young girl registering people she was told she had to wait in line to register before being able to see anyone. I was floored by this whole process and the fact that I could be having a heart attack and waiting in line to register. Finally, it was my turn to register and after taking my information I was told they had no beds available so I had to go sit in the waiting room. That is when this nightmare took a turn for the worse. As I wheeled myself around the corner I noticed how many people were waiting to be seen. Some of them for various reasons but it was disturbing to me sitting there with severe chest pains wondering how long I would have to wait. Finally, I heard my name being called and I could not maneuver the wheelchair so I was forced to walk into the opened doorway to find a nurse waiting for me. She took my blood pressure, put a device on my finger to check oxygen and asked me some questions. Within a few minutes I was told she didn’t THINK it was a heart attack but couldn’t be sure and I would be scheduled for a EKG, blood work, IV and chest x-ray. Then she apologized again for having no beds for anyone so I had to go sit back out in the waiting for my name to be called by the other departments. I never imagined what would happen next but I managed to call my mom to cancel dinner plans and told her I would call her once I found out anything. First, I overheard a lady in a wheelchair holler to the nurse she had been waiting 5 hours which was ignored. The mother of the girl she brought over with High Blood Pressure was still waiting as well. Her mother pounded on the nurse’s door to ask for some assistance but her cries went unanswered. There were two young girls in the corner from me told me they had been there since 2:00 today and still not been seen. It was now close to 6:00 pm and others told me how long they had been there. The family of another woman in a wheelchair parked in the middle of the floor said they had been there since 3:00 that day and their mother had just been called back.
I called my mother and told her what I was hearing and trying to figure out where I could go now to get some help. I was alone and terrified of fact that I could be having a Heart Attack in the hospital waiting room. My son arrived and upset that I had not been evaluated by a doctor by now. I knew the Immediate Med Center closed at 7:00 pm and it was close to 7:00 then. I then witnessed an ambulance crew bring in from the back a young man on a stretcher and after talking to the lady at the desk found they had to take him off the stretcher and put him in a wheelchair because they had other calls to attend to. Then I spoke with a couple who had just flown in from Ohio and he experienced difficulty breathing. He registered and was told to wait over there which was where I was. They said the Med Center on Mt Herman Rd was closed so they came here. This was going on 2.5 hours now and. My head was swimming trying to figure out where I could go and Atlantic General came to mind since they guarantee 30 minutes or less but wasn’t sure how safe it was for me to travel that far. I waited close to 3 hours for nothing to happen and fearing that nothing was going to be done to see what was going with me. I still felt I was experiencing the symptoms of a Heart Attack and believe me I am not one who runs to the ER ever so it really was scaring me. I was worried that damage could be happening to my heart and I could possible be losing time I chose to give my information back to the receptionist who apologized again and told her I had to leave. My son and drove me home since I only live 5 minutes away and spent the night fully dressed, cell phone in hand and door unlocked in case I needed an ambulance. I took my nitroglycerin and baby aspirin which eased the pain. My car was still sitting in front of the ER so we didn’t have far to walk to for my son to drive me home. This is an experience that has left me not wanting to go to PRMC ER again. I really am disturbed by the whole experience and have little faith in PRMC’s Emergency Room revamping. I for one can say I am very disappointed in the lack of concern and treatment of one of my worst health scares yet. I am very hesitant to ever rely on PRMC for help if God forbid I ever need it again."
Judi
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51 comments:
Judi,
Here it comes. You're going to get slammed by PRMC employees' comments telling you how awful things get at the ER, and how they have to see the most seriously ill patients first...blah blah blah.
Meanwhile, you could have actually died while waiting for someone to notice you.
Although PRMC is better than nothing, sometimes not by much.
Only by telling these accounts LOUDLY and PUBLICLY will anything ever change. They're going to scream at how busy they are, and how those poor souls who are really in need of emergency care are being pushed to the back of the line because uninsured people tend to use the emergency rooms instead of going to a dr. office for care. Again, Blah Blah Blah.
For as much as they charge, we should be able to EXPECT the 5 Star treatment you'd get at a Ritz Carlton Hotel.
several years ago i was taken to the prmc er on a friday night, via ambulance with severe chest pains. i was waited several hours, and finally was evaluated and tested, ekg, bloodwork, ect. i was sent home with sever indigestion. and told to make an appointment with my primary care doctor monday morning. i did this.
i found out at my regular doctor i had been having a heart attack for 3 days. prmc just missed it. ended up spending a week in hopkins.
since then i stay as far away from there as possible
That is so disappointing...there came a lot of hope with the revamping that some of these issues would be fixed...no beds...just crazy.
You would think the govn't would have some kind of checks & balances for this kind of service. Sounds like poor managment with inexperience doctors & nurses.
For all you chairside doctors and nurses.. you truly don't understand what is happening and what will happen shortly in the future with regards to Medicine
Doctors are leaving in droves, quitting, changing practices, not going into certain specialties(internal medicine).
The so called "free care" or Gov. run system that you expect is collapsing and for good reason.. people expect way too much, but do not want to pay anything for it....
The risks of being a physician now are HUGE.. malpractice, Horrific reimbursement, gargantuan paperwork and regulation.
Good luck to all of you in the future. It takes over 30 years from birth to make a doctor.. they can't be mass produced.. and the smart people in the country are NOT going to be doctors... they would be stupid to
If you have a doctor you like.. you should thank them for being there for u... because they likely will not be there in the future.. Trust me.. I know
I do not work for PRMC however I am there quite often and do see how busy they are.
In saying that, I also see several nurses sitting on there tails laughing and talking. I have seen several of them on personal phone calls. I have myself waited several hrs in the ER before and watched the ER staff stand aroung joking a laughing while I was waiting to be released.
Your best bet is to go to AGH if at all possible.
It's ashame the Immediate Care across the street wasn't open. I highly recommend them. You may sit a little while in the waiting room, but are seen in a timely manner. PRMC ER is a waste of time!!
As long as people on section 8 continue to use the ER for their personal primary care physician at our expense this will not change. Good luck!! Go to AG, they rock!!
OKay lets put it like this, MONOPOLY! Theonly game in town people. You are not going to get another hospital to go against them. Most doctors on the shore come here to pay off loans, the good ones get jobs in a few years making better money at better hospitals. PRMC is a huge money maker, they have plenty of money.
If you have something serious that needs to be done, go across the bridge. There are many hospitals with much better trained specialists there. They are up to date on their training and know what they are doing.
If you bought a care from lets say "Pohanka" and did not like the dealer, would you go back to them?
Whats the difference, they collect from your insurance thats it...Let them have all the people that dont pay and see how fast they close their doors. Those ER's are normally full of people who cant pay a regular doctor and go and tie up the ER for STUPID crap!
Vote for Obama so we can have more of this liberal crap and more illegals!
Why would anyone think the service would get any better at PGH/PRMC? The only things that continue to change over there is the appearance and layout of the building and the name, sounds like SSC/SSU/SU. All they did was put some shiny new, high dollar lipstick on the same pig that has been there for years. Next time you need a doctor in an emergency, call a veternarian, they have more training than those in the ER anyway and they are far more compassionate.
wow. This is inexcusable. PRMC, suck it up and hire more people. Also, those of you who have head colds and go to the emergency room, knock it off. I realize the emergency room gets swamped, but there is no excuse for not taking someone with chest pains seriously.
New facility , same old bullsh** from people who simply don't give a rats ass !!! The work morale sucks at PRMC , just take note and listen to the employees when they talk with other associates !! All PRMC wants is your damn MONEY!!!! I personally despise the place!!
The problem is not hiring more people, it's educating the public as to when to go to the ED. Some don't have insurance, so they take up room in the ED, making wait times longer. How is this the ED's fault? If they don't have beds, they simply don't have beds. What do you want them to do, set up a MASH tent outside in the parking lot?
Obviously your chest pain was not a heart attack, because you were able to get on Joe's site and whine about your experience. You had an episode of angina (you already have a Rx for NTG- therefore heart history) which was compounded by anxiety and being upset. Perhaps if you had listened to your doctor, you would've taken the NTG as soon as the pain started and relieved your symptoms. If you that bad off, you would've waited, not gone home to "sleep it off."
Cry me a river, but you're not getting any sympathy from this side of the court. You didn't follow your doctor's instructions, and you have an attitude that your problem is more important than others. Selfish.
AGH/PRMC...they are all the same....while one person may say AGH rocks,I beg to differ......my sister sat in the hallway 2.5 hours after a car accident waiting to be seen by a doctor at AGH.
Whatever the problem is at PRMC ER, they need to improve their customer service and physically clean that damned dirty hospital!!
The most ridiculous comment that doctors are here to pay off their loans... Couldn't be farther from the truth.. completely made up actually
Most doctors that I know.. and I am one on staff have been here for years and there is little turnover...
Comments like that are just plain stupid and IGNORANT of FACTS
If you want to go across the bridge.. do so.. saves us the time taking care of pathetic people like you
I think I just had a heart attack reading this story. Jesus, that's horrible. This has officially made the decision for me that I will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure that my family and I go to AG.
Welcome to Salisbury, an All American City, where you might get stabbed going to pick up your pizza, and when you're in the ER you just might bleed to death because there aren't enough beds. At least the graffiti and prostitutes might be able to tell us who did it. Without them we'd be lost.
I took my wife their to get out-patient test done and the receptionist threw papers on the desk towards us and asked "Why are you here". She was very rude. She then asked us if we knew where to go next and we said no. So she just gets up and walks away without telling us where to go. We paid the co-pay but ended up just walking out. We went to AGH and had a much better experience!
Anon 935 if you are on staff you need to go read your Hipocratic Oath one more time. Ooops never mind, the key part of that word is HIPOCRIT
I'd question why Judi didn't go to the Urgent Care across form PRMC, or ask one of her family members (mom or son, both of whom she said she talked to) to take her to Atlantic General.
On the very rare occasion that I've gone to the ER, I've expected the wait.
If I considered my issue to be potentially life threatening, I'd call an ambulance. At least that would guarantee fast triage, if not faster care.
I'm glad this worked out okay for Judi, but I mostly agree with anon 9:28. Everyone who goes to the ER doesn't want to wait, and thinks their issue deserves priority.
If it's not life threatening, and obviously it wasn't, expect to wait your turn.
One time we had to go to the PMRC ER because my co-worker had sprayed a chemical in her eyes by mistake. I told her to take her contacts out and wash her eyes before we went anywhere, and that probably saved her eyesight.
We waited in that ER waiting room for 3 hours, from 3 PM to around 6:15 PM. Of course, when they finally checked her out, they said everything was fine. Had that been a more serious chemical and had I not had her take action before we came, her eyesight could have been seriously damaged and we were just sitting and waiting for three hours.
That probably happened around 5 years ago, and I'm not really surprised it's still going on that way.
anom 9:35 AM
I have worked at the hospital, and in the ER... I do know that is what happens, every really great doc that comes through moves on. There are good ones but the specialists are not up to date.
I would never have anything orthopedic done in Salisbury, and I have heard docs tell me they start in Salisbury to pay off loans as a requirement. SOME stay because they like it, and some continue education and are great. A lot of them are over worked and out of touch.
University, John Hopkins, Union Memorial have some of the greatest, up to date docs around. PRMC is the issue I believe, no one to question them and no one to stop them.
So dont tell me I dont know, I do...
Go back to work in billing or on the ER desk... I am sure this is where it came from.
The only way you will get admitted into the ER in a timely fashion is to 1) Go by ambulance and 2) go in the wee hours of the morning, missing the shift change.
Kinda sounds like you have to plan your trip doesn't it? Well in all cases you certainly can't.
There used to be ads on television that told you don't wait, if you have these symptoms, get to the emergency room right away, but you can't hardly get in so what are you supposed to do?
I wish I had the answer, but I don't. I've had my own experiences with PRMC, some good, some bad.
I do ask though, if they just added on to their facility, why is there no room? I'm sorry, but you can't tell me that all of a sudden they are taking on even more patients, that doesn't fly.
As far as those without insurance, they have every right to good care as those with insurance. The difference is, that individual is responsible for the bill vs. the insurance company getting charged an even higher amount because they are paying the bill.
Some people don't have insurance because they can't get insurance, to no fault of their own, so don't point fingers at all uninsured unless you have walked in their shoes.
Anon, 9:28, you are heartless. Your're better off in prison and get medical care then this crap from PRMC. I was there last week 2 times with my brother & sister and there is not any way for confidentiality even. They have 1 young girl sitting on her butt and don't even have other spaces for patient registration but 1 spot with a chair in front of it. The staff there is uncaring as if to say where else are you going to go, we're it baby.
PRMC sucks!
Were all gonna die.
I worked for a doctor near by and
know first hand that PRMC is the
worse hospital around.It's not just the ER it is the management,
nurses,nurses assistants etc..
Believe me , if you can make it , go to Atlantic General. It is a
wonderful hospital.
I have walked in there shoes and had to pay. Some walk in those shoes and dont pay, give fake names, addresses and never pay and bankrupt the system.
If I dont pay they come after me with a vengance, if an illegal does not pay, they come after me by adding to the next bill I get claiming it has to go up because they did not pay.
When an illegal does not pay their credit card they get from Bank of America not having a SSN, then the rates go up for those who do have one and are struggling.
WAKE UP! How many hospitals have to fail because of them, our country is going broke because of them and greed.
How many bad loans went to illegals that helped cause the housing crash, how much debt was wrote off because of them. Have you or your family ever had an accident with an illegal driving, no insurance and then you get stuck with the bills?
WAKE Up People!
Oh my goodness.
Anon 11:30, are you saying the current financial crisis this industry faces is the fault of illegal aliens?
Really? Really really? wow.
That has got to be the most absurd argument I've heard yet.
I think YOU are the one who needs to wake up.
The only time I have ever gotten into see someone right away is when my son fell on the foot board of my bed and smacked his face right between the eyes. His face was so swollen they rushed him right in.
But now lets talk about if you don't pay them off quick enough...holy hannah! They are so quick to send your bill to collections, especially if you don't pay them the amount each month they think you should pay.
John Houlihan has so much business from them it isnt funny!
So they are quick to get paid but not quick to give good service!
11:30
Just to be clear, I was not talking about those who do not pay.
I was simply stating that not all uninsured are that way because they want to be.
I totally agree with you that illegal immigrants are a huge amount of the problem and I wish I knew how to fix it.
Maybe the hospital should use one of those services which can check the name against the address and phone number and maybe they should be able to verify a social security number as well to make sure they are billing a real person.
Just a thought.
Maybe we should just follow the law and deport them.
anon 11:15.. You failed to mention that you work as a housekeeper in the hospital. It's obvious you don't work in any specialty other than cleaning toilets, because your grammar and spelling are atrocious.
I will call you out and ask you to name one Physician who verbally stated they are only here to pay off school loans or it's a requirement. The students who go to Medical School under federal payment are sent to areas where nobody will work, because they don't make squat, such as the very rural Midwest and poor areas like inner cities (New Orleans, etc.) They don't place them in one of the richest states in the Country. How would I know? I am one of those Physicians working at PRMC who did my 7 years in some Podunk town in Nebraska.
To the genius talking about the Hippocratic oath, go back to 2nd grade. You'll learn how to spell "hypocrite" and use it properly in a sentence. The two words have no similar meaning.
If any of you geniuses know so much about health care administration, I implore you to come interview for a job. I'm sure you can fix the problems in a heartbeat, seeing how all of you are Monday morning quarterbacks. Thanks for the laughter, I've shared this with my colleagues!
I took my infant daughter to the old ER a several months ago. She was consistently gagging and throwing up in the middle of the night. The Dr. was a complete idiot and was of no help. Then the wait for them to discharge us was probably an hour. I went myself on Thanksgiving day because my OB/GYN sent me there. They gave me pain medication to take while i was there and a few to take with me along with a prescription to get it filled when a pharmacy was open. Well once we got on our way back home I looked at the packet the pill was in and they have me the wrong damn medication. i had even taken the wrong medicine. I was breast feeding and the side effects of the pill they had given me were 'unknown' she said when I called the Dr. They nurse not only gave me the wrong kind to take with me- but I had taken it so I had to pump and dump for the next 12 hours.
Some people would sue over that- i didn't. BUT certainly don't just take their word for anything. You could be given the wrong medication too and have it do harm to you. Thankfully i caught it and nothing went wrong....but how freaking unbelievable!
First shock when you get there- Poor,slow,discourteous service!!The real shock, wait until you see the bill !! Then you ask yourself , It cost WHAT!! for this piss poor quality of service ? Check out President Alan Newberry, thats why he's always smiling!! GOTCHA !!!
AGH = Ain't Going Home
OK, watch the language. I can understand your frustration but I'm not going to participate by posting such language here.
Laurel
I think YOU are the one that needs to wake up. Look up some of the hospitals in California that have CLOSED YES closed because of all the illegals using the ER as a doctors office and never paying the bills. The same thing is happening in Texas. You have internet access look up California hospital closing then you can remove that foot from your mouth
?? I had to use the emergency room at night once when my son was an infant and the service was just FANTASTIC. The ER does "triage" to determine who has a problem that can wait and who needs immediate attention.
If you've been sick all week, but you wait until the weekend when your doctor's office is closed, OF COURSE YOU'RE GONNA BE WAITING QUITE A WHILE IN ER!!! Why didn't you go to your dr during the week??
I also needed the emergency room when my son was in middle school and had a facial injury during gym class. Our doctor's office called ahead and the plastic surgeon who was on duty did a fabulous job -- my son has no scar.
Why are you locals always COMPLAINING instead of figuring out ways to help the congestion in the ER? For one thing, don't use the ER as your personal doctor; go see your doctor when you're sick. Save the ER for actual EMERGENCIES, would you please?
a few months ago, my husband (27 yrs old) felt extremely faint and dizzy.... his pulse dropped to 34/minute. we sat in the prmc waiting room for 5 hours before being seen.... then 4 more hours before being treated. meanwhile, i watched several patients with lacerations and such walk in and out.
i understand they are busy... but.... still.
Thanks, Anon 2:17. We're all grateful that you've straightened us out. Is there a specific set of rules for this situation???? for instance, if you're bleeding on a weekend, you can go to the ER? How about if you GET sick on the weekend? Is it okay then?
How about giving us all your contact information so that we can check in with you before we leave for the hospital? To make sure we're approved.
I had to take my daughter to PRMC about 2 years ago with an eye injury. They were outstanding and total professionals. It was a full moon and this place was packed. I asked a nurse if they were always this busy on a Monday and she said no it must be a full moon and it was.As a matter of fact I wrote a letter and sent it to the head of the ER thanking them for the wonderful service. I myself get sick of hearing everyone complain about the service at PRMC. If it's that bad go somewhere else.
Anon 2:13 -
lol
How about some East Coast statistics????? (Real ones, with supporting, legitimate references, not the usual BS)
My foot is nowhere near my mouth, thanks.
Unless I'm next to death, if I need to go the ER, I'll drive, or have someone drive me to AGH in Berlin. I injured my back a few weeks ago, went to PRMC, and the line at the ER registration desk was 15 deep, with only one person at the front desk. Drove the 20 minutes to Berlin, right up to the registration desk. Sat in the waiting room 5 minutes, into the ER, seen by a nurse and doctor, and out in less than 40 minutes. Oh, and did I mention EVERYONE was helpful and pleasant. I can understand why PRMC is the way it is, they are way understaffed and overworked.
Laurel
Why must it be from the East Coast? There are far more illegals in Cali and Texas. Should we wait to we get alot more illegals around here and the hospitals start to close before we take action. The FACT IS the hospitals in those states and many others are CLOSING because bill are NOT getting paid by the illegals!
Seems to me that there's an epidemic of uninsured and underinsured who can't/don't pay their bills.
Because they can't afford to pay a private dr's office, they seek care through the ER.
This slows availability of care in ER's, and according to what I've googled, may lead to hospitals closing.
I don't see from my google research that it's illegal aliens who are the brunt of this issue.
My liberal self does feel that health care is a right, not a privilege.
At my husband's last job, his insurance cost was $65.00 per pay when he started the job, rising to over $400.00 per pay before he left. His salary increases did not match the rise in insurance rates, so ultimately he was taking a pay cut to cover the cost of insurance, which my family needed.
Health and malpractice insurance costs are prohibitively expensive.
Perhaps it's the insurance industry that needs scrutiny and revamping, and not just those darned illegals seeking health care they don't pay for (is that always the case - illegals never pay for care received? I didn't bother googling that, but don't believe that it is).
But I guess that's another post.....
You think Alan Newberry is bad..just wait. Peggy Naleppa will be taking over soon and things will get much worse. She will continue to rule through fear and intimidation. Let her find one thing on you and she terminates you. I know first hand that employee morale is HORRENDOUS. PRMC treats their employees like crap and it seems to roll down hill. Employees treated like crap treat patients like crap. Employees can't call in sick without fear of being fired. If you call in sick for less than 3 days it comes out of your vacation instead of sick leave. Um..hello..when you work in a hospital with sick people everyday..you are going to get sick. If you call in sick because your child is sick...it comes out of your vacation leave bank. I just hope somebody sues them for violating the Family Medical Leave Act. Hey Peggy..here's a thought...tone it down and listen to your employees. They truly want the best for the hospital but don't feel that you have the employees best interests at heart. Look out for and trust your people and they will perform for you. People working in fear will never be productive.
build a bridge and get over it lady. everyone's complaints are the "worse ever" and us as er staff and ems personnel do all we can to suit all of your cries and pains. it gets really old to hear you all complain day in and day out. next time you come to the hospital we will quickly build 4 more rooms so we can get your ass in the room. lose some weight and dont use the hereditary bull shit excuse and you won't have to be wheeled everywhere. 9/11/2001 we were angels. now we are skum peices of shit. welcome to america. corrupt and don't give a damn about those trying to help others. let the comments begin
I don't want anyone on here complaining of ER waits and staff limitations. If you want to thank anyone at all, thank the bulls*** callers we recieve day in and day out that use prmc as a way to get high. As several ems workers do daily, we constantly bring in these drunk idiots and druggies or mom mom francis with toe pain. So before you jump ship, realize and do some research on why "your" beds are being held up at the hospital. People are there to help you, sorry your not first on the list. Get over it
I have been to PGH several times with different issues and different family members...none of them were good!! Including the ride there in a Sailisbury Ambulance with Ginger! You people chose to work with sick people...if you changed your mind at some point, find another job...it will be in our best interest.
One thing to point out, I have worked with sooo many different professionals in my career, from lawyers, doctors, accountants, law enforcement, technical, you name it. The worst to work with are most doctors, they are the most demanding, the most arrogant the most unreasonable to deal with and expect to make millions because what they know. Not all of course but for the most part. I too work in PRMC from time to time and believe that an aggressive manager walking around and asking why are you sitting on your butt, talking on the phone, feet up would make a huge difference. If you check the stats out doctor care is one of the leading death rates in the US, they do not answer to anyone outside their internal system, lets make a civilian review board with them and see what happens. PRMC employees, I know you are tired underappreciated, overworked at times, but remember these people your treat, please treat them as if you would your own family, it will come back to you.
OMG 9:10 you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Every single job has its "annoying customers" whether we like it or not. If your annoying customers piss you off so badly that you can't be nice and respectful to the rest of them, do us a favor and QUIT YOUR JOB.
Jesus Christ people. The thing that really upsets me most is that I will one day need emergency staff to care for me in a time of critical injury or illness and the only thing I've learned in the last 2 days is that you people already hate me and don't want to treat me before I've even walked in the door. And when I'm at a time of weakness, despair and uttermost FEAR because of the critical condition I am in, if I get flustered over the fact that I'm waiting to see a doctor, I'm going to be lectured on how selfish I'm being for expecting to be taken care of in a timely fashion.
If the murders, rapes and prostitution weren't enough to make me move away from Salisbury, I think that perhaps the staff at the hospital will. Your sense of entitlement and lack of concern for the emotional well being of those you treat is APPALLING. I am absolutely horrified. You blame your patients for your shortcomings, and you do it angrily. What is wrong with you? Why did you get in this industry in the first place? Please, for the sake of those of us who may be in dire need one day and need the emotional comforts of a CARING ER staff, quit if you hate your job as much as you seem to.
If you were an ER Nurse or Doctor in the middle of 3 to 4 twelve hour shifts and you knew that your hard earned TAX DOLLARS were paying for idiots primary care would you be friendly to them!?!?! NO!! And they sure as hell are not friendly to the staff. To be honest most of the staff in the ER recieve verbal abuse from patients and family members on a daily basis. Observe a REAL emergency and you will see the true sympathetic nurse or doctor. Oh, and if you think the emergency rooms across the bridge are any better, have you ever been to one? The wait times are awful...worse than PRMC. And one last thing if you have forgotten there is a helathcare shortage in the US and it is not as easy as just hiring more staff so you should be grateful for what you have.
Anonymous 9:19:
I have been to an ER on the other side of the bridge. I was in an accident that required I be shipped off in an ambulance to St. Agnes. The doctors and nurses were incredible. I had every single test and scan under the sun, had my eyebrow put back where it belongs, and after determining I was fortunate enough to only have a concussion, I was released. Overall I believe the entire experience lasted maybe 6 hours from the time of the accident to the time I was sent home. I had a doctor caring for me, not a PA (not that I think there is something wrong with PAs mind you, but its extremely rare to get an actual doctor in the ER at PRMC), and the staff was over the top friendly and helpful. I was extremely lucky that day after taking 70 mph head on impact in a Ford Festiva and walking away with a concussion and a misplaced eyebrow, and I was thankful for the care I'd received.
In this hospital, I've been to the ER on three occasions for myself and two with my husband. The three occasions I went there, I was sent away with pills and no diagnosis after they'd run literally no tests (one occasion I was coughing up blood, the other two I was having severe lower abdominal pain, each visit within two days of each other because the problem got worse and I couldn't walk).
The first time my husband went was not so bad, and he got his leg splinted after a sprain and the visit was somewhat quick. The second time, we were there because he gave himself some severe lacerations on his wrist with a pole saw while working in our yard. He was EXTREMELY lucky because he was within millimeters of major arteries. Anyway when we were there, his really big concern was having someone who specialized in this sort of thing take a peek and make sure that none of his nerves was injured. (We could see bone, so it was a deep series of cuts.) When he made this request to the PA on duty, she copped a major attitude with him, telling him that she was the person he would be seeing. No one else. Period. When he started to question her (admittedly, he was a bit upset, but considering the circumstances, he was actually more polite than I probably would have been), she refused to get him anyone else. The doctor that was on that day overheard the conversation, which was starting to get heated, and he peeked his head in. He assisted my husband from then on out with the examination, cleaning and repairing of the lacerations. He was EXTREMELY kind (funny even) and I wish he could be cloned a million times over because he was just that wonderful. It was frustrating still at times though because the stuff that he left for the nursing staff (medication administration, etc) took absolutely forever. We were probably there for an hour and a half (already admitted and in a bed, mind you) before he had his first conversation with the doctor and it was probably another hour after that before anyone brought him something to numb the affected area. He was in pain! All in all that was a bittersweet experience. The doctor (I wish to god I could remember his name--I think his first name was Clyde?) was wonderful, but everyone else just treated us like crap and took forever to do anything.
To all of the pissed off ER employees who keep telling everyone that the other side of the bridge is worse and that in a REAL emergency you'll be treated well, I disagree completely. Maybe you should try working at another hospital for a little while to see how its REALLY supposed to be. Or maybe you need to be on our side of the fence so you can see how it feels to be in a position of vulnerability from the fear you have over your physical condition, only to be treated like crap by those you are trusting to care for you.
There is absolutely NO excuse for the horrible attitudes you've displayed on this blog. Its one thing to respectfully state your opinion on why things are as bad as they are. Its completely different to basically say, "Our patients suck, so get over it." WRONG ANSWER! Find a new industry if you genuinely feel that way because I have a feeling it isn't getting any better anytime soon. You are doing no one (lease of all yourself) a service if you stay and have that horrible attitude.
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