I read the PRMC article posted on your blog. I would like to make you and your readers aware of a situation I was a part of.
Last Monday afternoon I called 911 on behalf of my disabled mother. She was experiencing chest pain. My mother has a long standing cardiac history that has required a cardiac cath and stents.
EMS was quick and prompt with their response however, upon arriving to the ER at PRMC my mother was wheeled in and taken to the charge nurse (I assume she was the charge nurse because she was the only one wearing a white shirt). The paramedic told the nurse that my mother was having chest pain and he tried sending an EKG but his monitor wouldn't transmit.
The charge nurse took a few minutes to look at her computer. She made two phone calls to see if several different rooms were "ready." She told the paramedic to "walk slow to 209, it's not clean."
As we arrived to 209, the room was littered with trash, wet bed linens, a full jug of urine, used half used IV fluid bags, documents containing the previous patients social security number, name, and medical diagnosis, and cords and wires on the floor.
There was three staff members at the nurses station. They saw us arrive and yet they did nothing to help get the room ready. One girl in green said "I've called environmental!" and continued texting on her cell phone.
We waited a total of 22 minutes (I timed it). It took another 4 minutes for the custodian to pick up the cords (without washing or wiping them), and make the bed (without allowing the cleaning agents to dry; my mother was eventually put into a bed with a sheet soaked with a cleaning solution). The custodian didn't even remove the jug of urine.
In total we waited almost 28 minutes (from arrival) for my mother to be placed into a bed. We then waited another 14 minutes for an EKG to be done at the hospital.
I asked my mother's nurse to have a supervisor come talk to me. She never showed.
I have since called Salisbury EMS and they referred me MIEMSS (the state agency responsible for EMS). They have advised me they will start an investigation. They have advised me that PRMC (as a cardiac intervention hospital) must complete an EKG within a certain time frame. They've also advised me that an ER has to be ready for ambulance patients and failing to do so will require EMS ambulance patients to be diverted to another ER (capable of handling the patient load).
This hospital is not capable of saving lives. How they maintain being a trauma center, stoke center, and cardiac intervention hospital is beyond me. It's disgusting.
Thanks Joe.
-Fed Up
42 comments:
It's an ER, it's a busy place. End of story.
PRMC is one of the diriest hospitals I've been in (no wonder the number of infections).
When I visited Christiana, I constantly saw janitorial staff cleaning everything, throughout the entire day, the entire week.
I purposely chose to go to Seaford for my Same Day Surgery and it was very clean as well.
Meanwhile, at PRMC I've been in dirty ER rooms, had my IV bag emptied and alarm going off forever and the bag filling with blood, no nurses. I was left alone forever needing to urinate and couldn't get anyone to bring me a urine jug. I was wheeled into a urine stank hallway and made to wait for 45 minutes while a Alzheimers patient screamed the entire time to get a MRI done.
This is time and time again at PRMC, and over the course of 5 years, nothing ever improves, it just gets worse.
It starts at the top, there is no PRIDE at PRMC. No one cares.
Hospitals are like Tv sets. If you don't like what you see, go to another channel. In this case another Hospital.
"we waited almost 28 minutes (from arrival) for my mother to be placed into a bed". Your lucky, It usually takes that long to fill out all the State, Federal and insurance forms.
Most people over there have the "it's not my job" attitude. It's very scary.
Oh my gosh, that is so awful. I'm sorry you had to experience this, it must have been stressful and scary. What in the world is going on over there?! I hope I don't have any heart issues anytime soon..scary!
I have been misdiagnosed twice there. One case was life-threatening and the other could have resulted in paralysis. It was only interference from relatives that prevented the worse from happening.
I am sorry that your family has gone through this. As you stated their lack of quality can be appalling and can put patients at serious risk! Unfortunately many in our community have had similar problems at PRMC. The hospital does not hold their people accountable.
The Maryland Board of Health Care Quality is the state agency that has responsibility for managing the quality of Maryland hospitals. Just punch their name into your browser; their home page has a tab on the right for "File a complaint". You should go ahead and register a complaint with them. If you do file a complaint (and I encourage you to do this) you will need to be persistent. They often are apologists for the hospital and don't always respond in a timely manner so you will need to stay on them and don't let them off the hook!
You will probably not get anything but lip service from Robin Massey if you file a complaint with PRMC on their website. They are very good at deflecting all complaints; quite often by mentioning that discussion of your complaint would be a HIPAA privacy violation. This is a very common deflection. The hospital has many tricks to avoid holding their employees accountable.
I wish you well.
First of all there is no such thing as Salisbury EMS. It was hijacked by the fire department for job security. It is now called Salisbury Fire Department and it is ran by a couple of wannabes that have literally no EMS experience. Rick Hoppes tried to become a Medic, but he failed the exams.
Dear heavens this is so scary. I too have had this happen to me. Personal information left in the room, and bloody tissues, trash everywhere. This hospital needs serious leadership, and a complete investigation top to bottom and soon.
Friend went there with chest pain, waited so long she left and went to McCready hospital Hospital where they found she was having a heart attack and had to be transported back to PRMC by helicopter (at her expense) where she finally received treatment
In a word Obamacare. Expect more and for those that voted O'Malley and Obama - get it now?
I have lived within 10 miles of what some consider the "best hospitals" in the world. No matter what hospital, Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai, Mass General, or little PRMC, you always hear horror stories, even about the "best". People just can never be satisfied. I have personally only had good experiences at PRMC (although few and not for any serious issues).
A dirty room is not acceptable. however, However it doesn't sound like this patient was in imminent danger. The staff at PRMC may very well have been busy saving someone elses life...
I work at that hospital and I can tell you that it is one of the nastiest hospitals I have ever seen. What this commenter said is true. You don't know how many times I have seen the rooms filthy with blood dripping on the floor from the stretchers, filled urinals, bloody gauze. All this while patients are waiting to get in a room. It is true that they don't wipe the EKG cables or the BP cuffs down. Their disinfecting skills are horrible.
I refuse to go back to PRMC. I tell my doctor i'm allergic to PRMC. right now i'm needing surgery on my knee and thyroid. I want to get this taken care of this summer before ocare kicks in and more trouble with everything to do with healthcare. i'm not going to PRMC. I have found out that many of the doctors can perform the surgery in alternative locations. this is good, because if this weren't so I was going back to Johns Hopkins.
PRMC is one of the dirtiest facilities I have ever seen. the cnas don't want to be there and the attitude of most of the employees is horrible. I can't figure out why they haven't been closed down.
I took my son there last year after a football injury... his knee was injured so they did an x-ray.. told me it was just bruised to put some ice on it... went to ortho the next day.. and he knee was broke.. had to take him to Hopkins...#terrible!
you all complained about the salaries for the CEO and Director.. How much do you think those in the same positions at JH make?? I bet it is more.
Big hospitals, top hospitals, are located in areas that can support them financially. The best Doctors and administrators command top salaries and want to live in areas reflective of that.
PRMC is a low income area hospital. Your choice is to live with it or travel to the more affluent areas for medical treatment.
There are countless people from the Eastern Shore of VA (yes they are in worse shape than us) that consider PRMC to be the best they can get. They drive 2 hours to get here like you might to get to JH.
Think about it...
When in doubt ride them around...
I had emergency surgery at Prmc and i had a great surgeon and received great care from the nurses and aides. My room was cleaned every day. I have no complaints.
Being an ER is not an excuse for a lack of cleanliness. I work at one that sees 75k + a year and we can still clean our rooms in- between and disinfect cords. It's our responsibility and we do it because we care.
If this happens again, don't just write about it. Take pictures. Write down names. Ask to speak to the Operations Administrator. For management to investigate a compliant such as this is their responsibility, and if they want to maintain privacy, look at the chart for staff names/ encounters/ interactions, and speak with them privately.
Also, the national standard of care is to get an EKG in < 10 mins on any patient complaining of chest pain or anginal equivalents. We manage to do to just over 3k a month with a 99% compliance rate---- it's possible!
Anonymous 4:17
You are making the assumption that salary and income level of the community is proportional to competence and quality of care. That is, in my opinion a big assumption on your part and a wrong one at that. There is a prevailing opinion from those posting (and dare I say most of the community) that our money could be much better spent. A hospital that is dirty, a work force that is unhappy, and so many patients with bad experiences are all indications of poor leadership not low salary. Are you saying that an administrator making $800,000 per year salary is not competent to have a process in place to keep the hospital clean? When does that become part of her job description? $900,000? Giving Naleppa a raise would not solve these problems or lead to a better hospital. I think we tried that already. Replacing Naleppa and her entourage would, however, be a very good start!
They certainly are not clean in the Emergency Department. When they take you back to one of the little rooms, posted, on the wall, among other things, it says something like if you don't see them wash their hands, please ask them to do so. Well... I took about as much as I could and I finally asked about the third person that came in to please wash their hands because they were going from room to room without doing so. That's when I really got the attitude from the person I asked - she informed me that she washed her hands before she came in the room so I just told her well don't touch me until I see you wash your hands in front of me, that I don't know where you were before you came in here and I'm sick enough and don't need anything else. She got very indignant but did wash her hands.
5:52 my point was that hospitals that pay higher salaries get better employees. A person qualified to run a johns Hopkins is not going to consider PRMC. And CEO of PRMC is not CEO material at a Johns Hopkins..
Let's look at this problem without emotions. One, PRMC is filthy and has been for years. So, let's advocate to get it cleaned-up, report it & we will have a better hospital.
Two, let's admit the nurses are unpaid & overworked. PRMC HIRE more professionals to service our great community.
Three, If the Top Brass can't show leadership and pride, let's get rid of them & get someone in who knows how to run a hospital.
Four, we need to stay on the asses of the Board and make sure they do what they are suppose to do.
Five, stop complaining, find the right solution to the issue and let's make our hospital the best it can be.
Peggy -- Are you listening?
4:17, you think about it. it doesn't cost a fortune to train people properly and follow up on them and of course follow up on patient care. it doesn't cost a fortune to keep this hospital Clean and to train All employees regarding proper hygiene and train housekeeping to do a top notch job. Every employee, including doctors must be observant and report when they see something that needs to be done NOW. if employees are allowed to stand around picking their noses or texting or whatever they're doing and not taking care of the patients as they should, then PRMC has a major problem; don't they. well this is what I have observed as a patient and much more. this problem only comes from the top. Poor Management. Not Focused. No Goals to continually improve and Not Consistent with training or anything else. money isn't always the answer.
I tell my relatives if I need to go to the hospital, bypass PRMC and take me to the Veterinarian.
Approx 3 Months ago, my daughter went to PRMC for Pains in her stomach. Long story, short, The Doctor just knew it was her appendix. She was on her way for a cat scan, the doctor say NO, I am taking her to the operating room now. Took out her appendix and that was not the problem. She just had an infection from her Merana birth control device. Filed complaint with PRMC, and PRMC rejected the complaint twice, stating the bills are stilled owed. Needless to say, they will not be paid any money. This is going to a Lawyer.
I stayed in the room with my adult daughter after she had surgery. The room was filthy! The staff didn't seem to want to do anything. I thought it was because I was there so they assumed I would do it but I'm not so sure after reading other comments.
To all the people that have had problems of quality of care at PRMC please read the following:
The Maryland Board of Health Care Quality is the state agency that has responsibility for managing the quality of Maryland hospitals. Just punch their name into your browser; their home page has a tab on the right for "File a complaint". You should go ahead and register a complaint with them. If you do file a complaint (and I encourage you to do this) you will need to be persistent. They often are apologists for the hospital and don't always respond in a timely manner so you will need to stay on them and don't let them off the hook!
You will probably not get anything but lip service from Robin Massey if you file a complaint with PRMC on their website. They are very good at deflecting all complaints; quite often by mentioning that discussion of your complaint would be a HIPAA privacy violation. This is a very common deflection. The hospital has many tricks to avoid holding their employees accountable.
You can (and should)also register a complaint with your health insurance company. They all have a mechanism for the consumer (patient)to register a complaint or dispute a bill.
People should file formal complaints through channels other than PRMC. Stay on it, be strong and force them to respond and get to a proper resolution. The hospital will do nothing but cover up!
And as mentioned by many the best bet is to try to stay away from PRMC and their unofficial monopoly of care providers. Go somewhere other than PRMC if you can.It is very sad that the community has to to go through this but unfortunately this is the current reality.
That's all Robin Massey is good at...lip service. I have filed two complaints with her in the last 3 years and NEVER got any communication from her at all!! She is terrible. Why does she still have a job?
9:31am...do not pay. The procedure was not medically required. You should certainly take this to a lawyer.
I'm sure there are a few concerned and professional upper management people at PRMC...or at least there has been over the years. Under their current leadership...you either roll with the way it is or they push you out. Many qualified RN's have moved on rather than face the "pay back" for questioning protocol or procedure. If you aren't sick enough to be in ICU or PCU...you may die. The focus is not on quality health care...its on revenue and liability. Mistakes are made in dealing with the sick and injured, but piss poor basic care is inexcusable.
PRMC is a good hospital but they are lacking the good quality service that you receive at JHH. Started treatment at PRMC then had to go to JHH. NO comparison when It comes to personal care. The staff at JHH including down to the environmental staff were all so caring it was unbelievable. Everyone there was truly concerned about me and even the doctors were so very friendly and helpful. I work at PRMC and hope I never have to use the Cancer Center for treatment ever again. The no care attitude is disgusting. All they are interested in is the money. The employees are always being asked to give more even down to the low pay scale. I wonder how much the administration staff has given up of their salaries? Cindy and Steve seem to be the only ones that truly care about the employees. Have not had a raise in several years. I realize all hospitals are going thru some difficult times financially. PRMC has always had excellent financial planning and I applaud them for this however it is the employees that contribute to their success and if they were rewarded as such the work attitudes would be much better.
A septic tank is cleaner than PRMC. I don't know about other people but I know at least five folks that left there with infections picked up at that hospital for relatively simple procedures. One of these folks died and another is now permanently disabled. They won't disclose their infection rate for hospital related infections. They have a lot of problems that are probably related to wanting to accelerate their fast growth rate by expanding services without expanding quality control standards. As for high salaries, it seems as if somebody should really explain this to the rank and file employees who are directly responsible for patient care. These are the folks that make PRMC safe, reliable and, most of all, sanitary.
Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. My wife and I both had successful orthopedic surgery at the hospital. The staff and facility was top-shelf.
July 1st is coming ! I think since we are all losing 2 days of vacation, we should all call in sick on the same day. Let the ones walking around in their heels with clipboards that think they are Barbie get out on the floor and take care of patients. Lets see if they can stay in their "swim lane!"
My father was at PRMC in PCU for 5 days before his sheets were changed. His sheets were so dirty my mother found clean sheets & started changing his bed as best she could do at her age. When the nurse saw what was happening, she came in to help but had a serious attitude. My father was the blood thinner Coumadin, he was being fed green leafy veggies everyday. My parents had no idea he shouldn't be eating veggies...they thought because he was in the hospital the nurses knew better. His room was filthy & the only cleaning that accomplished was having a mop glide over the floor in .02 seconds.
Another family member requested they clean her room after her roomie was diagnosed with C-Dif...6 hours later her daughter bought Clorox & cleaned it herself. The tech came in the room & saw what she was doing...she was told Clorox is not allowed for cleaning in the hospital because the hospital is a Green Hospital. The filth is everywhere in that hospital. I've been in bars that are cleaner than that hospital. Environmental
Services are under staffed, overworked & treated like dirt themselves.
8:49pm...wish I was employed there on July 1st. Sounds like wonderful idea. It would definitely change the thought process of the "facelift queen" & her flunkies. After all, she's well known for her famous remark " we don't need you, you need us".
I have seen what most of these commenters have stated. OUR problem is that when WE see something wrong at prmc we need to pull our phones out and take pictures with dates and time. Names times comments made by others ALL have to be documented or you are just blowing in the wind! No one will call off on July 1 because they know they will be reprimanded. Good luck to the nurses techs environmental etc,,,, that place has been that way for years I think it would take a visit from God to change things! Md Inspectors and the JCAHO haven't changed things! YOU have to have facts and be willing to stand up for good care! When you decide to blame Obama stop and ask if he ok'd Dan Akins golf cart, Alan Newberrys golden parachute and what's her name salary provisions. My age group went through all this in the 90s and it is still the same! The good news for todays workers is SOCIAL MEDIA USE IT! Thank you Joe
I am willing to bet within 2 years there will be a new President! She will take the money and go elsewhere/. I saw in Metropolitan Magazine her degrees and titles, but no college names were given/! Interesting.
Yes this hospital is disgusting. The staff are all lazy and are only there for a paycheck and not to be of help to their parents. They lack the "caring" gene. My friend went back and fourth with issues and was immediately sent out to JHH when they had no idea what to do anymore. Had it not been for these idiots not wanting/knowing how to do their job, he may still be alive today
I worKed at PRMC for 21 years!!! I loved every minute of it!
Yes it was dirty but they do not have enough cleaning people! Most nurses are loving and caring but we must
Remember there are good and bad in every profession!
Excuse me don't put ALL the staff is lazy. Not the case at all. . There happens to be lots of excellent nurses and other employers that are great at their jobs. If you have not walked in their shoes you have no idea!!!
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