Firstly, this post will be a little long, but it deserves the attention of the general public. We ALL know that PRMC buys so much in advertising (hundreds of thousands of dollars) from the 3 main “news” agencies will not dare publish anything that shines a bad light on PRMC.
- Did you notice that the Wicomico County Health Department didn't disclose where the latest Caronavirus came from? Guess who provides funding to the Wicomico County Health Department? That’s right, PRMC. So, why didn’t they release the location? Because it happened at PRMC. The Wicomico County Health Department determined it was transmitted by someone working at PRMC. Who could it be? What position could they be holding? Were any patients exposed?
- The hospital is COMPLETELY out of one basic cleaning agent: bleach wipes (they are literally used to wipe down just about everything). Now they are basically pouring bleach on paper towels. The cleaners are complaining about how they cannot properly sanitize hospital rooms properly, including the rooms that held COVID-19 patients, therefore exposing new patients to infection. It’s vitally important to sanitize every room as if every room held a COVID-19 patient. A COVID-19 patient could have the virus and not show symptoms during their stay in the hospital; leaving the virus for the next fool to go to PRMC.
- The hospital claims they are being very proactive, but they still reusing medical equipment on multiple patients. If you go to the ER, they are still putting reused blood pressure cuffs and pulse oximeters on patients. Those two pieces of equipment are “reusable”, or the hospital seems to think so; even during a very contagious pandemic. They’ll claim that they get sanitized. I can guarantee you, that’s a lie. Even when a COVID-19 patient comes into the ER, they use the same equipment; when the COVID-19 patient gets admitted to main hospital or discharged to recover at home, they will “sanitize” those pieces of medical equipment, and reuse them on the next patient. I’m certain that this disease will find more people to infect at PRMC. If you really, really, really must go to the ER at PRMC, make sure to ask for a disposable blood pressure cuff, and pulse oximeter when you get to your room.
- PRMC has failed to have enough PPE on hand to protect workers. As the CDC is on the verge of issuing a directive that would advise people to wear face masks, PRMC administrators have told those who aren’t doctors, CNAs, or RNs, that they will no longer be issuing them a face mask. They may reuse their face mask if they would like.
- PRMC still has not completed a single COVID-19 test in house. Why? They can’t pass quality control testing, therefore they must send all their specimens to an outside lab, and that delays getting an accurate diagnosis.
- While other hospitals are going out in the community and being proactive, and setting up testing sites, and yet PRMC is just sputtering along.
- Why are people involved in direct patient care wearing the same PPE between patients? It will help keep the staff safe but it will mean sharing germs between patients. Like COVID-19, MRSA, VRE, C-diff, etc.
- If you must go to the ER, just know that ER rooms that begin with 4 or 5 are the same rooms they are sticking COVID-19 patients. Be wary.
- Does social distancing not apply to hospital staff behind the nurses station? I don’t know if they’ve seen the high number of medical personnel that have tested positive. But they need to realize that they aren’t immune behind the nurses station, especially with no PPE on. A whole unit will be out of service.
- Will President and CEO Steve Leonard get his 6 figure bonus? Will he actually profit off COVID-19. Just give it back Steve, we will be watching you.
- Lastly, there has been a hemorrhage at PRMC. An insane number of people have left PRMC recently. Just the ER alone has lost 13 nurses. Why are they leaving? Is it effecting hospital readiness?
70 comments:
Was at the ER on the 21st..the nurse at registration had no mask on and tried to hand me a mask with out gloves on nor making the attempt to at least sanitize. The Er dr walked in with her mask or her elbow, no gloves. They nurses were going from room to room with no gloves or masks and I only saw one nurse sanitize her hands between rooms. It was far from be busy. I personally asked for wipes to wipe down every touchable surface after hearing another lady ask for them..
Oh FFS stop demanding perfection indignantly in the middle of a "pandemic". Shit happens. You're lucky people still show up to help putting themselves at risk.
All I can say is GOOD LUCK. went in for emergency surgery last year and the cleaning and staff did more work getting out of doing work. I was there for three days my room was cleaned once
The 21st.. ok that was like a month ago in this pandemic. We have all learned so much since the 21st.
Shame on you for spreading this misguided information about our front line healthcare workers.
PRMC is waiting in line, like many other hospitals, to get their hands on the covid 19 test. The manufacturer is distributing it to the areas that need it most. It has nothing to do with “not passing quality control”.
I would imagine since our count is low they are not being as proactive as they should be.
Told you that if you talked to nurses (not just at the hospital), you would be scared. This is not being handled correctly and there are way to many people at the top sucking all the money. How about they take care of covid patients. Maybe things would change if they were are risk. We have had plenty of time to get prepared and prevent this mess coming our way or better prevent the mess coming.
Our numbers in this area are not correct. There are way more people positive and not being tested. If people out here knew the truth, they WOULD stay home.
First of all, we are all fortunate to have a large, local hospital. That being said, I know first hand how inefficiently PRMC is being run currently. And it starts at the top. Many of the upper level managers are in positions they were not trained for (nepotism maybe?), and there is constant in-fighting among them as their egos get in the way, exposing their ineptness. And, of course, they are all 'yes' men (and women) who tell Steve Leonard what he wants to hear.
Worst of all, the entire operation is set up in corporate layers and pillars, so it makes it way to impossible for each department to communicate effectively with the others, resulting in chaos and catastrophic patient care and supply-chain mismanagement, as we see here now.
It's no wonder that there is so much truth in the writers words.
Steve Leonard could do the hospital - and the community - if he would allow employees (other than upper level department heads) to chime in and provide HONEST feedback on how to improve efficiency at PRMC. Sometimes, the best ideas come from the lowest level employee - because they are the worker bees.
Our numbers in this area are not correct. There are way more people positive and not being tested. If people out here knew the truth, they WOULD stay home.
April 2, 2020 at 6:35 AM
This is the part people don't get.
Everyone is doing us a dis-service by not accurately reporting the numbers and giving everyone a false sense of security.
Then people get careless.
By inaccurately reporting only 7 cases people figure they are relatively safe.
Well put. The $hit has hit the fan. Prepare to be splattered.
The Halo System is used to clean rooms after covid19 positive or suspected...they use peroxide not bleach as the cleaning agent FYI... God Bless all our Health Care workers during this crisis...
PRMC has always been 2-rate trash anyway. This should come as no surprise.
Wow. Hard to wrap my head around all of this the last month. Wow.
Ghee said...
PRMC has always been 2-rate trash anyway. This should come as no surprise.
April 2, 2020 at 8:06 AM:
Good. Go somewhere else to get treated and die. We won't miss you.
I have three family members (two RN’s and a NP) that are putting themselves at risk each time they show up for their shift at PRMC, along with all the other dedicated personnel necessary to staff and keep the facility functioning.. They are dedicated, caring and committed professionals. They surely take seriously the situation and the risk that they, their families, and all patients are being subjected to.
It is very easy to criticize and kibitz from the sidelines. Volunteer and get in the arena. One’s perspective may change at that point.
It may be a good thing to express gratitude and appreciation to all of those personnel at PRMC, and similar institutions and situations that “hit the front line” everyday exposing themselves to all the risks encountered in their profession, and subjecting themselves to the criticism such as indicated in this post and the follow up comments.
It is indeed.
Since internet speeds are lagging all across the country, does PRMC have adequate internet for test results?
The Infection Control Nurse must be feeling very challenged right now.
What I think is funny about this post from Joe (or any other complaints about hospitals) is that they seem to be operating from an assumption that hospitals should/can be perfect. What a joke! They're run by PEOPLE. If I ever need to go to the hospital I expect to 1) have to advocate for myself, 2) possibly make nurses, nurses aids, and/or doctors uncomfortable with my "demands" and questions, 3) witness lack of proper procedure.... the list goes on.
Anyone who expects to not have to work HARD for proper care in any healthcare setting is kidding themselves. No one cares about you like YOU care about you.
I bet PRMC is about middle-of-the-pack when compared to how well hospitals of similar size are performing in addressing the pandemic ---- half of the hospitals in the country are probably worse, and half are better.
You're forgetting this thing called HIPPA where it's illegal to disclose an individual's health information. PRMC is just like everything else on the shore - second rate.
It is true, upper management only worries about themselves. Bullying and fear is how the manage. The communication is lacking and everything is unorganized. Yes, we are making our own bleach wipes and given a mask to wear for 5 days to be put in a paper bag at the end of our shift.
Beebe Hospital has already set up multiple rounds of drive-up testing. Why hasn't PRMC - with all their affiliates and acquired medical centers - done the same?
Really tragic about the lack of masks but what can PRMC do? Right now NYC and the federal government are having trouble getting masks. Not likely PRMC is going to take priority at the moment. All are doing the best they can.
NO ONE was prepared for this. The Eastern Shore was slow to respond. I feel confident that the front line people are working as hard as they can with great risk to themselves and their families.
Management needs to show they are LEADERS! Don't sit in your ivory tower and give orders. Let's see some boots on the ground from leadership!
This comment has been removed by the author.
April 2, 2020 at 8:32 AM:
Since when can a comment be removed by the author? Only the editor or blog administrator can remove comments.
Ignore. Author is an ignorant clueless know it all who has no idea what the brave people on the front lines are going through.
What part of national shortage of protection and supplies don’t you understand ?
Well said.
I am 💯 sure I have covid.. I have had every symptom for weeks..so far it has been brutal but not deadly for me. I was told by my Doc to not bother to go to hosp because they won’t give me the test unless I am at deaths door..all I could do was isolate and hope for the best
@841
I do go elsewhere now. After 3 misdiagnosed ailments, 2 family members dead, and 2 friends turned away (again, misdiagnosed), we will certainly go elsewhere to survive. Fool me once, shame on you...
9:45 read replies from Anonymous 7:29 and 9:42 Accusations are NOT directed at the medical staff- our staff is working our asses off. But, The department heads do NOT communicate with each other so they don't know what they have or don't have or what we need. Upper and middle management is so bad, it's a wonder we keep the doors open. If we were a private company, and didn't get public funding, we would not survive. Furthermore, it seems that the IT department is in charge most of the time instead of clinicians.
This epidemic is showing how mismanaged PRMC really is. It's been going on for years. And, until Steve Leonard is forced to see how bad it is, it's not going to change soon, either.
It's HIPAA....
Do they even have test kits at PRMC? I saw Dr. Chris Snyder on WBOC saying something about them but I missed most of the story.
True indeed. You have to be your own advocate,or have someone to be a advocate for your behalf if you are not able to. You have to be that way even if you go to a top notch hospital facility. Prmc has never been an A grade or B grade hospital, Unfortunately I have had the experience of being in a hospital way worse than prmc...Also there will be no accurate number of positive cases, until mass testing is performed of everyone. Especially people that have no symptoms. That goes for any city, county or state in the U.S.
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I just heard that the fast detection kits are coming shortly. This should reduce detection times from 4 days to about 4 hours after draw. This is really good news for us.
If your doctor felt you needed a test, they can order you one. I was not under the impression on a hospital can.
You are all missing the main point. PRMC will begin layoffs for all clinical and support areas next week.
PRMC is being run into the ground. I'm a 25 year employee and I would leave tomorrow if I could. This has become a horrible place to work.
Have a friend that cleans at the hospital.... Can vouch 100% they do not use bleach because it smells and can trigger some folks with breathing problems
I read where peroxide was NOT suitable for covid cleanup.
The doc could not get any tests and the hospital rejected his order...
They used bleach when my husband was there because one of the environmental women asked if he was allergic to bleach.
That is true and many cannot tolerate the strong snell of bleach or ammonia.
A commentor can edit or delete a comment if they are the author
Yes they do. And they ARE testing there, despite what the original post says. My friend's mother was tested last night for the virus.
Where’s the PRMC Executive Staff? Has anyone seen them? Got news for you all, they’re working from home!!!
Joe, I really hope you don’t get covid and need to be treated at PRMC.
Bye
READ THIS!
As a PRMC employee, this article, written by someone who is very uneducated about healthcare, infuriated me. It is full of false information! PRMC has gone above and beyond preparing to care for patients during this pandemic. The countless precautions they are taking makes me proud to be an employee and I feel much better knowing if my family were to get sick, PRMC would be more than capable of taking care of them. I’ve working at several hospitals and organizations in the area and PRMC is the most impressive in their operations. This author can’t even spell Coronavirus correctly and has no business giving his input as he sits at home while people at PRMC are risking their health to care for others. He hasn’t even stepped foot in the hospital because of the stay at home order and no visitors are allowed. Don’t believe a thing in this article. The lab hasn’t done in house testing because they are waiting for reagents to validate the new testing! He is so uneducated writing this, he doesn’t even know standard lab practices and what quality control even means. I encourage all readers to turn elsewhere, somewhere factual, for their “news”. I only saw this article because a coworker sent it to me very upset about it. And to the author, I recommend finding yourself an “essential” job because your blog is full of misleading false information and you are only spreading lies of fear to this community. I’m going to head back to the hospital for my shift and help care for patients now.
Not sure where you heard this but it’s not true. Fast detection kits aren’t reliable and PRMC is working on getting in house testing as fast as they can.
Lol what a loser.
Is it true that some PRMC staff are stealing ppe for personal use at home and for friends and family?
@April 2, 2020 at 7:30 PM . If you think for one minute the big wigs at the hospital are going to be anywhere near there, you have another thought coming. " If you need me, call me. Do not come to my home"
This is a world crisis and people shouldn’t be condemning first responders.
I'm a employee of PRMC and I approve of this post. We have a great team.
Cya
April 2, 2020 at 10:48 AM
I had it in mid January. 102+ fever, cough, can't breath, and chest xrays to back it up. Comes on fast, takes weeks to go away. Takes months to fully recover.
It's a global plan to get rid of the undesirables on the shore. Chy-nah and prmc are in cahoots to get rid of you all. Very hush hush. I read it on the internet.
Probably!
PRMC is only testing those that are extremely ill. Most people are told to take Tylenol and quarantine themselves at home. It is true about the reuse of masks and gowns. The gowns are hung up outside the door for any staff to use in the ER. You are given a lunch bag to put your stuff in until you use it again. It’s true about the mass exodus of nurses in the ER.
No hazard pay, re-use mask for 5 days, No extra sick leave given to you in the event you do become sick. Even Home Depot gave their employees sick leave to use in the event they become ill.
I’m so disgusted with PRMC and their blatant lack of planning for a healthcare crisis. Well, here we are . . . They should have been stock-piling medical supplies on a regular basis and we would have been prepared. Yeah, I know certain supplies have expiration dates blah blah blah, but there is no excuse for not having an adequate supply of PPEs. I’m on day 7 of reusing my face mask! PRMC was so worried that Johns Hopkins was going to get a foot-hold in the Eastern Shore that they were only worried about scooping anything and everything up that looked like it might be profitable for their “not-for-profit” pockets! The staff is scared freaking to death and the “upper crustations” are MIA. There sure was enough $$$ for all of the promotions and title changes and the Healthgrades title, but “no money in the budget” for the necessities! Now they are talking “restructuring” which translates to layoffs.
Oh boy, the spelling police is at it again. SMH
What about the rest of us 9:04 ?
You're a real S A
I take it you don't work for PRMC. They have not had a lot of nurses leave. The reason they are hiring more nurses right now is because they are needed in the covid unit being readied in another part of the hospital.
Actually I do. Some have left and others are on their way out. I’m referring to the ER staff. I hear the talk and the disappointment of the staff. I know all about the new area on the ground floor.
What about the triage tents? One tent can’t be used half the time cuz it’s underwater most of time and the heat doesn’t work. The other tent may see ten patients in a days time. As for the part of the ER used for PUIs the staff was told to reuse the gowns. They hang them on the signs outside the rooms. It’s just a matter of time before a staff member gets COVID 19. I’ve heard people say “Is this the day I get sick?”
They are only testing the very sick.
PRMC is ok if you need a bandaid or maybe chemo but other than that, stay away. They will kill you.
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