Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Sunday, June 14, 2015

A Viewer Writes: Allegedly PRMC is in the bottom 25% of the state for patient satisfaction

Peggy and Cindy went on about all these "cultural changes coming to PRMC". The reality is that for the last 2 1/2 years our patient satisfaction scores have continued to drop to the point that they are now one of the worst in Maryland. 

The board has finally decided that this might be an important issue since we seem to pay our executives well above the bottom of the state.

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

And this is a shock to who?.....

Anonymous said...

In all honesty, I work at a local healthcare facility and the amount of infection that comes out of that place for people going in for routine procedures is ridiculous. I can also say that from my own personal experience that I do not have a positive opinion on the cleanliness of the facility either. I had taken a family member to the ER one night about 10pm and while waiting in the waiting room, during flu season of course, a gentleman had vomited on the floor 3 times in a row, while I sat there nauseous from the odor and watching others in the waiting room move seats and cover their faces, I also watched the clock...that vomit sat in that floor for 25 minutes before a Housekeeping employee came out of the ER doors, looked at it, said 'Huh, not me, not tonight" and walked right back through the ER doors. About 10 minutes later an older housekeeping employee comes and out and cleans it up. In my opinion, in a hospital setting there is NO EXCUSE for vomit to sit on the floor for that long. I made up my mind that night, unless it's a life or death situation, my family and I will be driving to Berlin to AGH. They need a serious overhaul of some of their policies and procedures. They are messing with people's lives.

Gary said...

The truth is finally coming out about this wasted space on Carroll Street. All the TV ads in the world can't and won't change the leadership at this Reginal Excuse of a hospital........the community needs to demand better!

Anonymous said...

I guess so , they have CNAs running the hospital.
They can't even change a bed pan properly.

Anonymous said...

finally one survey they can not buy. For the 1 million Peggy makes you would think we would have better scores. Sounds like it may be time to clean house.

Anonymous said...

Considering they don't have a 'real' IT Security / Cybersecurity department, I would be really concerned about my personal and health info being stored in their systems.

Anonymous said...

I will go to Easton or Baltimore if I should need anything major. The few times I have ever had to go there were less than pleasant. Both of my sons were born there in the nineties. The staff were very unfriendly and the doctor assigned to my first born misdiagnosed a collapsed lung for heart problems and had him flown in the middle of the night to Baltimore. It turned out it was all unnecessary and caused us a lot of stress and a financial burden for my wife and I for a doctor who didn't know what the hell he was doing!! Not to mention the fact that my wife had just given birth! I made damn sure this doctor was not to touch my second child when he was born.

Anonymous said...

Does not surprise me in the least.

Anonymous said...

Peggy and Cindy who?

Anonymous said...

I thought we already knew that.

Rebel Without a Clue said...

To the person who would rather go the AGH over PRMC: I have to disagree with you on that one. The folks are AGH are great but the hospital itself ain't all that by a long shot. I love the way that they built the hospital and then had an after-thought, where is the morgue? They built the morgue last on the outside of the building.

The technology at AGH is terrible too, PRMC has much better equipment and it seems to work with less breakdown. I know this from experience but I will not say how I got that experience. That is not the patient care folks problem but it is a problem overall and I hope that things are getting better for the hospital.

I've had several procedures at PRMC and have never once had a bad experience. No post-op infections or anything so I fail to understand where all of the bad press is coming from.

Just my 2 cents, I could be wrong.

Anonymous said...

And they did not want to pay the city a lousy $400 permit fee to tear down the old DT building. Want the taxpayers to foot the bill for everything.

Anonymous said...

In their quest to make money, they have hired new nurses with no hands on experience to work on the floors and have eliminated the veteran, skilled nurses as a cost saving measure.

I speak from personal experience, that if you don't have a family member or friend as a patient advocate watching over you, that place may kill you with their incompetence.

By pass PRMC and head to Baltimore.

Anonymous said...

To busy screwing eachother litterally. It is a real soap opera. What happened to patient care ?????????????

Anonymous said...

The CEO of PRMC (Peggy) is another overpaid executive. Her salary is in excess of $800,000.00 per year which does not include the other "perks" that most executive enjoy but are never exposed to the public. She walks around the hospital like she is queen. She has no problem cutting or laying off VALUABLE ESSENTIAL personnel. However would never consider reducing her salary to pay for needed personnel to run the hospital. Just another "Fat Cat" looking out for number one.

Anonymous said...

i wouldn't take my dog to the Pig Ranch Mortuary and Creamatorium

Anonymous said...

I went there last night for chest pains with no relief from my 800 mg ibuprofen. It took them 23 minutes to get me to triage then another 18 for vitals to be taken and I sat in a chair outside of a room waiting for it to be cleaned which took approximately 7 minutes. All she did was change the bed and pillow case and attempt to wipe the floor from whatever was smearned down there (couldn't tell it if was vomit or blood). They could not get a good read on the EXG so that took almost an hour. then the doc comes in and says has anything else been going on, I tell him about my history of migraines and he says well migraines can cause chest pain and numbness. Never is my 30 plus years of having migraines did I ever experience anything like that. so after giving me some nausea medicine and Demerol for paid and benadryl which they said would help with the chest pain (never heard of that before) but the nurse said it would. They sent me home still with the chest pain just milder than originally. I called my neurologist at Hopkins and guess where I am Baltimore being admitted for low blood pressure, dehydration, and other tests are being done. Now PRMC will send me a $250 bill for my ER visit because that it my deductible even though they did basically nothing to help me.

I get that there are good and bad doctors everywhere but bed side manner goes a long way and so does knowledge. So I PERSONALLY GO ACROSS THE BRIDGE TO WHERE I FEEL COMFOTABLE WITH DOCTORS WHO CARE ABOUT ME AND MY QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT I HAVE GONE TO PRMC BECAUSE I DIDNT THINK I COULD MAKE THE TRIP TO HOPKINS BUT ENDED UP HAVING FAMILY MEMBERS TAKE OFF WORK (ME INCLUDED) TO GO AND MENTALLY I FEEL BETTER ALREADY.

ALso the doctors up here frown upon the doctors at PRMC. That says a lot right here.

Anonymous said...

I waited for 5 hours just to get IV fluids because I was so dehydrated from food poisoning. I told them that was what i desperately needed as soon as I came in. Once an hour a completely new person would come by. On gave me a pill to stop vomiting, which didn't work and only made me feel worse. One checked blood pressure, one took blood and was so bad at it she left me with a horrible bruise from jerking the needle around looking for a vein. Every time a different person, none of whom would listen to me. When they finally gave me fluids 5 hours later I was so bad off I needed a 2 full bags, both going at once and squeezed with blood pressure cuffs to speed them up. When the nurse took it out instead of carefully wrapping the tube around the spent bad for disposal, she began waving the bag in a circle to "spin" the tube around the bag, leaving the slack flailing wildly about with the bloody needle still on the end!
Another time I was run over by a car. I was treated in an hour and released by AGH. Next day I had some very troubling symptoms which caused me to go to PRMC. The doctor chewed me out telling me I had been given a form with the name of a follow up at AGH and should have called them an that "my problem was I didn't listen". Huge jerk. I went home and found the form he described. They had never told me anything about it at AGH and when I looked the space for follow up Dr name was blank.
They pressure women into C-sections because they get more money than natural birth for the procedure, then they botch them leaving horrible lifelong complications. There is staft infection running rampant through that place too.
The sad thing is there is not one decent hospital anywhere on the shore. I do know I wouldn't go back to PRMC if I was #%&@ing dieing!

Anonymous said...

I know at least prior to 5 years ago PRMC and AGH shared doctors. So same screw ups at both places.

Anonymous said...

2:50
I think they share ER doctors but the care is different at AGH. The nurses are nicer and the doctors seem to actually want to help you there. PRMC acts like if they make you wait long enough you will leave. Some do!

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, I know Ain't Going Home (AGH) but I have never heard that one. That is hilarious!

Anonymous said...

A patient at PRMC reveived severe burns last week while having a pacemaker implanted!

Anonymous said...

there was a rumor johns hopkins was going to take over the pig ranch but when they realized it would need bull dozing and hundreds of exterminators they changed their minds

Anonymous said...

A patient at PRMC reveived severe burns last week while having a pacemaker implanted!!!

Anonymous said...

I had surgery. Nurse came in to check the site and dropped her latex glove on the floor, picked it up and went to put it on. With disgust I told her to throw it out and get a new one. Imbecile.

Anonymous said...

I live minutes away from PRMC because of such terrible care in the ER, I refuse to ever go there again. I take my chances and go to Annapolis or Atlantic General. I have found the two times I went to AG, the doctors, the nurses, and the X-Ray staff are all very friendly and the service and patient care is outstanding on all levels.
Both times I went to AG I was seen in under 10 minutes, and the doctor was waiting for me in my room after my X-Rays. They treated me very well and I have no complaints. They are very kind, even the ladies that checked me in, they are caring, and they are efficient.

When I had some serious health issues that the local medical doctors here couldn't seem to solve, I was seen at that hospital and let me tell you, they take patient care extremely serious at that hospital. The doctor actually came to get his own patient and did a complete and thorough examination. The doctor never acted rushed or like he wasn't listening to me. The staff was great and most importantly, even though I was away from home, I FELT SAFE!

I keep getting survey letters from Peggy but I will not fill them out because nothing at PRMC ever changes for the good. I believe she just wants documentation to tout her successes, but there are no successes for me and others at PRMC.

The Board better sit up and start taking notice of how the community feels about their care and stop using serving on the hospital board as a feel good community relations job and something to talk about on the golf course and truly listen to what patients are telling you.

Anonymous said...

I would drive north to Hopkins until I dropped dead before I would go to PRMC. The thoughts of them opening a bigger BREAST CANCER CENTER makes my stomach turn. I feel sorry for everyone (including myself) who will need their ER some day. HOW DO WE GET SOMEONES ATTENTION??? How do we bring in some inspection team to clean this place up??? NIH National Institute of Health could be notified by employees if they would be willing to share. Maybe do it without signature...but if you know something as truth...DO IT. Anyone who lives here in this area is subject to an emergency and will need this place. It would be better to clean up the mess NOW!!!!

Anonymous said...

Funny, I went in for chest pain S d low blood pressure and they gave me Demerol too. I kept asking how in the hell is this going to help?

Anonymous said...

Been to PRMC a few times. ER, and labor And delivery, as well as some visiting family. I can't say I have seen any of the issues most are taking about. I can say it is pretty much the same story all over the place (at least in the 4 other states I have lived in) everyone hates their local hospital. And the people who live near the one you like hate it just like you hate yours...

Anonymous said...

then you've never been to johns hopkins, it doesn't seem like a hospital, just a place where u r comfortable and feel like you will b ok and teams of dr's see u on a regular basis. the service is unbelievable

Anonymous said...

Actually PRMC is in the bottom 10%. There are only a handful of hospitals in the state that are worse. Folks it takes work to be that bad. Given that the executive salaries are in the top 20% of the state...does'nt it seem like something is out of whack here? Thank your board members for that. Cronyism at its worst.

Anonymous said...

The board is a joke. They have thworked collective heads up Peggy's rear end

Anonymous said...

IT is a joke at PRMC.

Anonymous said...

They won't get better until a community action group sues the board. That is the only way to bring about lasting change

Anonymous said...

Some of your senior administration folks need to go. It's either time for retirement or just time to move on. The ongoing PRMC mentality has destroyed the local public confidence especially due to the senior staff members there. Sometimes, it';s just time for a change!

Anonymous said...

I speak from personal experience, that if you don't have a family member or friend as a patient advocate watching over you, that place may kill you with their incompetence.

By pass PRMC and head to Baltimore.

June 11, 2015 at 1:00 PM

I agree as I have first hand knowledge. I wonder if we know each other?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
They won't get better until a community action group sues the board. That is the only way to bring about lasting change

June 11, 2015 at 9:47 PM

I looked into that, even got a Balt lawyer since I'm sure the local ones are in prmc's pocket. He eventually told me Wicomico county is the worse place for a lawsuit as the people here are too conservative and wouldn't award enough money to make it worthwhile to sue. So the people here are screwing themselves yet again.

Anonymous said...

Went to the ER due to dizziness and nausea. Never asked any questions concerning drugs but I did advise them I was an insulin dependent diabetic. My sugar was not tested at that time but they very quickly gave me a shot of Narcan for a suspected drug overdose. When I didn't respond to the Narcan they finally checked my sugar and found that I was ill due to a diabetic crisis. I was furious and spoke to several folks there who later advised me they followed protocol even without a tox screen being done. I'll never go there again unless I'm unconscious and unable to get to another hospital that is competent.

Anonymous said...

Demerol is not and has not been given for any kind of pain for many years. FACT. After reading many of these comments and observing the spelling and grammar I don't think I can take too many of them seriously. A large part of the problem in health care today is the lack of personal responsibility to take care of ourselves. There is so much abuse of the health care system that the truly sick have to wait to be cared for. It is the same lack of personal responsibility that has infected our great nation on many levels. If you don't take your car for regular service it breaks down. If you don't care for your body on a regular basis it breaks down.

Anonymous said...

I don't disagree with the lack of personal responsibility. However I don't know how that invalidates the issue with PRMC being one of the worst in the state. Do you think our morals are worse than Baltimore?

Anonymous said...

Agreed. The leadership is horrible. They continue to wonder why employee morale is so bad....it would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic

Anonymous said...

Folks...why do you think these hacks are working on the shore? Because that aren't skilled enough to make it in the cities. So they come out here and practice medicine. Emphasis on practice.

Anonymous said...

The nurses are horrible for the most part. They think they have tenure and for the most part they are correct. They would never discipline a nurse.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Been many times in the last couple years. There is no comparison. Hopkins is like a high end hotel while PRMC is like the worst flea bag no tell motel you've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

Sure you did. Who was the lawyer?

Anonymous said...

The grass is always greener on the other side and disgruntled people will always bitch. Happy satisfied people (the majority) have better things to do than rant on a blog site.

Anonymous said...

Again....I don't disagree. However this STILL does not explain PRMC's ranking in the bottom 10% of the entire state. You can't sweep that reality away with either of those arguments.

Anonymous said...

I would think the buck stops with the CEO. Getting a few of the alcohol binging, dope smokers off the board of trustees might also help. Yet, this won't happen because they love the Money!

Anonymous said...

"However this STILL does not explain PRMC's ranking in the bottom 10% of the entire state."


Bottom 10% of what, exactly - patient satisfaction?
How the hell do you accurately measure that?
Who decided this ranking?
Where is this published?
What is the basis for comparison?

Broad statements like yours mean nothing without a little context.

Anonymous said...

"IT is a joke at PRMC."

Why?

Anonymous said...

I been there with family members as patients many times over the years.
Long waits and uncaring staff. A few good ones but for the most part they are
there to collect a paycheck and carry on conversations in front of visitors that
they can't wait to get out of there because of the way they're treated by supervisors.

But don't even get me started on the nursing homes in the area!

Anonymous said...

2:00pm. Just because you say they are broad statements does not make it so. The state of Maryland evaluates and ranks all hospitals on many criteria. Patient satisfaction is one of them. Since 2012..PRMC has continued to fall to the point that they are now in the botTom 10% (aka decile) of all hospitals in Maryland. This is all public information. I hope these details weren't too overwhelming for your simple mind. Maybe you should stick with the picture books and let the grown ups work with words

Anonymous said...

11:09 must be staff and not been a patient.
Although some are friendly, the service stinks.

Anonymous said...

2:10pm...you're clearly not an employee or you would already know. Ray's programmers spend the first 90 minutes of theit work day lounging in the cafeteria. The help desk SUCKs. Everything about that team is mediocre. The leadership of the team...Sucks. they can't even hand out perfect attendance coupons before they expire....pathetic . PRMC I.T is synonymous with apathy.

Anonymous said...

2:10pm...don't for one second think that we don't realize you're part of the PRMC I.T. leadership. The fact that you don't know you're a joke only underscores your profound incompetence.

Anonymous said...

3 months ago my wife was having a heart attack and took her into the ER and the person at the desk told us to give her my wife's name and go wait around in the waiting area. I told her again and was told the same thing as my wife was bent over in a wheel chair gabbing her chest. I was told the same thing over again. I wheel her around and she was starting to get sick and there was a nurse on that side and asked what was a matter. I told her that she was having a heart attach. My wife was then rushed in and taken care of and was having a heart attach and then rushed to the cath lab. I went off in the room after my wife had gone to the cath lab and by the time I got back to the front desk the person was removed from the desk and I could not get a name or any answers!!!! If it was for the one nurse she might not have made it. I wish I could to thank her!! I will say the nurses that took care of her for a week where the best I have ever dealt with and PRMC should be thankful of these nursed!! The person at the front desk should be fired as well as the person in charge of this area due to total incomitsy!! More than likely it's been brushed under the rug!! But with all of the layers of corporate personal it no wonder nothing will be done. Upper management is totally clueless. I not sure if it's over yet from my end!!

Anonymous said...

Part for the course..Tracey the ED supervisor SUCKS.

Anonymous said...

"2:10pm...don't for one second think that WE don't realize you're part of the PRMC I.T. leadership. The fact that you don't know you're a joke only underscores your profound incompetence."

Actually, I was thinking of applying for a job there and wanted the scoop. Everything isn't a conspiracy, Tinkerbell. And who is 'we'? Do you speak for the board?

Anonymous said...

I went in for what I thought was pneumonia, they had me in for renal failure (kidney shut down). I was dehydrated, they had me on at least 5 bags of IV fluids for 24 hours, I was peeing every 20 minutes after the second bag, does that sound like kidney's shut down? Then they insisted I stay the night. Next morning I heard the outgoing nurse tell the one starting her shift that they had me scheduled for an ultra-sound at 2PM, I said no you don't I'm out of here this morning, as far as I was concerned the other tests could have been done via out patient, they were just trying to tack me another day as in-patient, no pun intended. I had to run down somebody to get me some food, being a borderline diabetic and haven't ate a real meal in 32 hours wasn't gettin' it. They gave me some crackers, when I went down the hall the one nurse asked me did I want some more crackers, I said no I don't want any more crackers, I need something to eat. At which time a nice nurse got up, took 5 steps and reached into a small fridge and asked me did I want the turkey sandwich lunch box, I wanted to kiss her! Then I was already PO'd from no food, no sleep and was ready to leave, I had to ask two nurses were they were going to remove my fluid IV port, so I could leave, or was I going to have to do it myself? The worst experience I ever had there, now I know why many people would rather go to Baltimore.

Anonymous said...

"I hope these details weren't too overwhelming for your simple mind. Maybe you should stick with the picture books and let the grown ups work with words"

Whoa! No reason to be a snarky prique about it. I'm simply asking for clarification of your statement. Which you didn't supply. Nasty little rodent, aren't you?

Anonymous said...

5:15pm. BULL. you were trying to make a point without any facts and I provided the facts. Name calling? Aren't you an immature ine. Sorry you can't handle an adult dialog. .as i said..stick with picture books.

Anonymous said...

PRMC is like the motel that got torn down on RT 13, PRMC is the Travel Thrift Inn of hospitals. You may get what you went in for, but come out with something else!

Anonymous said...

I was in for a heart procedure was having. Extreme pain. with the new procedures for medication my doctor wrote for a more effective medication. The nurse called down to the pharmacy to request. The pharmacy said they didn't have the authority they would have to contact the pharmacist on call . However the on call person said they would need to do an assessment before making the change I was informed he simply refused to come in to do what was needed . soi had to wait till the next morning and was delayed going home because my ain wasn't under control the next morning I was told he would be there fist thing. After waiting several more hours the nurse had to run him down to get him to do his job that he was neglecting.it was a terrible experience to go through! Some customer service huh?

Anonymous said...

PRMC is no different than their Crisfield pathetically run and managed counterpart (McCready). Both have boards and administrators that dont have a clue and wouldn't know how to buy one. Upper management of both institutions is to blame for their incompetence.

Anonymous said...

i think the thrift travel inn had to be cleaner than the pig ranch

Anonymous said...

2:46 Thank Obama ..average wait at Holy Cross in Silver Spring is 8 hours... Mexicans with lawn mower attributed injuries seem to be the norm this time of the year

Anonymous said...

8:10 The other area hospitals aren't much better as in time it takes to help someone. However they have a lot more patients then PRMC ever thought about. When my father in law was sick they were en route to the hospital by ambulance only to find out they had closed down the ER because they had to many patients already. The new hospital in Germantown will help but they need more hospitals in that area. God forbid something tragic happens they do NOT have enough medical people to keep up with the amount of people in that area. With people using the ER as a doctors office (the doctors office makes them pay up front) it will only get worse.

Anonymous said...

The bottom line is Peggy doesn't hesitate to tout the many awards of various descriptions and on various levels. She will track down a reporter to ensure the awards show is posted in the paper, the local media, and oh my, the pictures. What Peggy doesn't seem understand is this basic fact, all the so-called awards mean nothing if patient care in the form of care and service isn't provided quickly, efficiently, and intelligently. Poor care, negates awards, all of them.

The community has spoken volumes about their care or lack of it. People are sick or dead, and your FIRST and ONLY concern should be DO NO HARM not trying to skirt the major issue.

Obviously there is a very bad personnel problem at PRMC and it is affecting the care patients receive. The ER is a disgrace and needs to total revamping for top to bottom. If the interns, doctors, and nurses don't want to do the job, get rid of them and hire only qualified candidates that can do the job. IF the ER staff spent as much time in helping the patients as they do trying to avoid doing their jobs, people/patients actually might get the needed care they deserve not the care you pass off as outstanding.