An ER account from another city and state

[NotGolfer]

I was reading today on a social media site from the state where I came from. It almost could have been from someone here in T.V. (copied/pasted) It's happening not just here but elsewhere. This hospital "used" to be excellent....but now is transitioning.

"I was in the emergency room yesterday in one of their make-shift rooms. Only a curtain between myself and a man I knew years ago. I heard every single detail of what was going on with him. I would think that this would be a huge HIPPA violation. There absolutely was no privacy. That besides the six hour wait for extreme pain and the time that was "ticking away" on the golden hour for the fellow next to me. As a nurse and as a daughter of older parents now I am still bothered by the amount of "critical" time it took to get this fellow next to me diagnosed and "shipped out" and I only hope for the best for his family. The take away is that I shouldn't even know ANY of this PRIVATE information. This is NOT how emergency rooms should be ran.
I felt like I was on an episode of House. They have a main physician with numerous student physicians and you can hear them asking questions, talking about procedures and if they needed assistance performing them. I don't have a problem with students, they're usually great, my problem again was that patients should not hear other patients medical information and that's why we have privacy laws. And I'm sorry but if that was MY dad in the other room and 3 students came into "assess" whether he was or wasn't having a stroke while time was ticking away I would be blowing up some phones with complaints. Praying for this man and his family."

[spk7951]

I spent 21yrs as a Firefighter/EMT in CT and we had a department run ambulance service. Of the three hospitals we would take patients to two of them had similar rooms where there would be two beds in the room with a curtain separating each bed. As mentioned pretty much no privacy for either patient. Since I left the Fire Service in 1999 I certainly hope both of those hospitals have remodeled their emergency rooms.

Earlier this year we were up north visiting my folks when my Dad took ill and went to the hospital via ambulance. That hospital had recently built a new ER which I was impressed with as there were some 15 or so private patient rooms. But there also was a steady stream of ambulances bringing in patients and soon all rooms were full.

Sadly I remember days when we would have to put a patient in the waiting room due to no available rooms or even on a gurney in the ER hallway. And it was common to see a full ER waiting room at any of those hospitals. I was hoping times had changed but when I went to the ER with my Dad the ER waiting room was pretty full and one of the nurses told me that was fairly common.

[justjim]

It's no secret people are living longer, however, the medical community has not kept up especially when it comes to the ER. The Villages may be the prime example.

[perrjojo]

I was recently hospitalized and one log jam I saw was getting patients dismissed. I had two specialist who said I said I could go home by 8:00 in the morning; however the doctor who admitted me was on day off and another doctor was covering for him. The admitting doctor finally dismissed me at 7:30 that night. I lay there thinking of all the ED patients waiting for a room. How could this be handled better? Any suggestion. Also the woman in the bed next to me had the same long wait to be released as her admitting physician did not come by til early evening. Two beds held for 10-12 hours unnecessarily. Also, I find the Villages ED no worse than in other cities I have used for my parents and husband.