E.R. village hospital

[gamby]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;


I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so
I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call.

I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.;
After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this.

I then left

We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues.
I don't see it here !

[BarryRX]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;


I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so
I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call.

I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.;
After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this.

I then left

We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues.
I don't see it here !

So far I see the Villages medical as , " Ä doctors honey pot"

I'm sorry for your bad experience. Hospital ER's have to triage. If they were dealing with 6 ambulances, they were probably forced to use the limited resources of a regional hospital for cases that were more critical than yours. I hope you eventually got the medical care you needed and that you're alright now.

[Madelaine Amee]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week; I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call. I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.; After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this. I then left We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues. I don't see it here ! So far I see the Villages medical as , " Ä doctors honey pot"

You have obviously had a frightening and miserable experience, and being new to the area makes it even more so. A major clue as to your condition was "After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area" - believe me if you had been having a heart attack you would have been admitted immediately, the fact that you were not admitted on the results of the EKG shows that nothing required immediate attention.

Don't give up on us just yet, wait it out, things will calm down and when you find the right medical people and they get to know YOU and your medical history, you will be fine.

My personal recommendation to anyone with a medical problem is to go to either one of the two very good critical care units we have in TV. One is off 466, behind CVS on the corner of 101, the other is in Lake Sumter Landing. I have found their staff to be more than efficient and knowledgeable, and if they think you need to be in a hospital they call an ambulance and you are immediately admitted.

[zcaveman]

That is why I always opt for MRMC in Ocala when there is an emergency.

[njbchbum]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;


I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so
I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call.

I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.;
After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this.

I then left

We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues.
I don't see it here !

So far I see the Villages medical as , " Ä doctors honey pot"

gamby - your experience was an unfortunate one. my first reaction to your tale is to get another doctor who does not use an answering machine! i agree with another poster that my next step would have been to one of tv's emergency care facilities to be evaluated.

sorry you didn't know that arriving ambulances take precedent over the 'take a number' system used in so many e.r. waiting rooms.
I then left

before i'd consider leaving the villages, i'd consider my alternatives for medical care in the villages. why not give that some consideration?

[Mikeod]

I would just add that the facilities mentioned above should not be used for "critical" issues. They are urgent care clinics, best used for conditions that need to be evaluated soon, but are not life threatening. If you feel you have a life threatening situation, call 911.

[Carla B]

But if urgent care sees a condition that is life-threatening, they'll call the ambulance. That happened to me at Paramount a few months ago.

[Mr Hanky]

Maybe the villages should consider a full service hospital. Large towns with fifty thousand people have them. The villages plans on haver over one hundred thousand high maintenance residents soon . I think the next project should be a new state of the art hospital. We need it !

[NotGolfer]

I would just add that the facilities mentioned above should not be used for "critical" issues. They are urgent care clinics, best used for conditions that need to be evaluated soon, but are not life threatening. If you feel you have a life threatening situation, call 911.

I agree with this poster's comment! Urgent Care facilities here are for non-lift-threatening conditions--they will tell you this. They're to be used if you can't see your primary doctor for something, such as the flu, a sinus or ear infection, some kinds of wounds etc. They also shouldn't be used as your only source of a primary practioner.

As for the E.R.---it's true they triage patients according to their condition. IF your's in non-life-threatening you won't take precidence over someone whose needing emergency care. IF they were expecting 5 ambulances then that would definately be taking precidence. I'm sorry that you felt your care wasn't prioritized. I do believe that most hospitals do this, no matter what part of the country one lives in. I had the opportunity (if you will) of going to The Villages Emergency Room last year. While I felt my status should have been looked at expediously, I was in there for 3 to 4 hours. I'm sure the personnel were doing the best they could given the circumstances. I, later was admitted after which I can't say enough about the excellant care that I was given. This all happened on a holiday weekend when my physician couldn't be contacted as well. Hopefully you won't base your experience on this event!! There are very good doctors in this area...as in every area of the country you will also find some that aren't so good.

[Irishmen]

No things won't get any better. My wife over the summer waited from 4pm to 3 am just to be seen. On the other occasion it was better, we only waited 7 hours.
Problem is no beds available. Doctors take the easy way out by sending us to the Emergency room when we could go to,their office if they let us to be seen. Also, the Hospital is seriously understaffed and over worked. They do the best they can but the volume is just to much. Even at incentive of double time and triple during the weekends, their just isn't enough nurses. Right now under Medicaid people without insurance are allowed 20 Emergency room visits per year with no copayment so every drippy nose they run to the Hospital.

[Mudder]

The Villages hospital now has an Urgent Care facility across 441 from the hospital. I have had to go to Villages ER twice in the last year, once I was taken in immediately due to nature of my problem , the other time I waited for 3 hours. If it was serious enough that I had to enter in an ambulance I would hope others would understand.

[billethkid]

I have heard tales like this too many times in the 8 years I have been here.
As a matter of fact there are those who will not go to TV emergency room unless they are brought in by ambulance to get the priority treatment.

I was able to witness how TV hospital room works (or should say doesn't work) when my sister had an emergency situation with her heart.....too long a wait....then finally put in a bed in a hallway....then into the ER to stay all night with a curtain for a room....then to a room. The cardiologist was just as frustrated. Hence that experience plus too many accounts like the one presented here;

in a serious medical emergency we have it stated in our emergency notification kit to be transported to either Leesburg or MRMC.

btk

[SALYBOW]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;


I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so
I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call.

I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.;
After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this.

I then left

We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues.
I don't see it here !



I am very sorry that you had this experience. While I see both sides of it, this is way too long to wait. I work at the Villages hospital but when I need help, I call first to both Leesburg and TVRH ERs. If they are busy I go to one of the ERS in Ocala, West Marion or Munroe Regional. I have been very satisfied with the care at all of the hospitals.

Btw, Dr. Bettancorp is the pulmonary doc I feel is best. Dr Couterier is the Best cardiologist in my opinion. My PCP is Dr. Agbo and he would not allow this kind of care.

The hospital is planning on building a free standing ER facility near the new square but I do not know the timing yet. That should help.
Again, sorry for you plight.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Anytime we have had a true emergency we have always used an ambulance when going to the ER both back home and in TV and have always received the emergency care we needed in a prompt timely manner. Anytime we haven't had a true emergency we have always called the Dr and gotten into his office to receive the care we needed. I would suggest if you beleive it's urgent enough to go to the ER (after all ER stands for "emergency room") use an ambulance otherwise why use the ER if it's not an emergency?

[SALYBOW]

Maybe the villages should consider a full service hospital. Large towns with fifty thousand people have them. The villages plans on haver over one hundred thousand high maintenance residents soon . I think the next project should be a new state of the art hospital. We need it !

It was first announced that TVRH was granted a CON for a new hospital in Brownwood. I know that is about to expire. I have heard a RUMOR that Watermann is trying to get into that area. At our General Staff meetings at the hospital I get the feeling that TVRH cannot afford a new hospital, ergo the switch to the new ED plan. That might help with the Ambulance issue but my neighbor went in an ambulance, was triaged, and still sat in the waiting room for 6 hours. I think the hospital needs to hear from you all. The only time I went to the ER it was not a long wait. Besides they might see me as a disgruntled employee. Just a suggestion.

[NotGolfer]

It was first announced that TVRH was granted a CON for a new hospital in Brownwood. I know that is about to expire. I have heard a RUMOR that Watermann is trying to get into that area. At our General Staff meetings at the hospital I get the feeling that TVRH cannot afford a new hospital, ergo the switch to the new ED plan. That might help with the Ambulance issue but my neighbor went in an ambulance, was triaged, and still sat in the waiting room for 6 hours. I think the hospital needs to hear from you all. The only time I went to the ER it was not a long wait. Besides they might see me as a disgruntled employee. Just a suggestion.
__________________
Sally Bowron
Cincinnati, Ohio; Buttonwood TV

copied/pasted the above......

Thank you Sally for your input in this thread! I think what you have said makes alot of sense. So many of us have a bad experience (doesn't matter where) and we just complain about it w/o actually going to the source, or above to share our concerns (albeit complaints). Nothing will change unless there is knowlege......

I still stand though and say that all hospitals (even what we deem the best) will have instances where they fall short of excellence. Because we all are humans we all make mistakes. I know when it concerns life or death, or is personal that doesn't fare well...but it is true.

[Joaniesmom]

We literally just returned from the ED about an hour ago. My husband was treated with great care and concern. I did notice patients in the hallway, waiting for a room to open up in the ED. But every patient in this position was still accompanied by the EMTs who brought them in. They did not leave until the patient got a bed.

I,too, am sorry about your experience, but I feel the fact that you were asked to wait indicated that they had triaged others who were in worse shape than you were at the time. I truly think the ED staff do the best they can for their patients. I KNOW nobody in ED wakes in the morning thinking, "I'm going to treat patients badly today just for the heck of it."

[EdV]

Well, if you folks would simply schedule your emergencies well in advance, we wouldn’t have this problem. The ER could then more efficiently adjust their staffing levels accordingly.

[Jhooman]

I'm so sorry for your bad experience.

We moved here a year ago. The Husband was diagnosed with lymphoma, treated successfully at the Moffit center, he's in full remission.

I had ankle surgery in Orlando, physical therapy locally, very happy with results.

Four months ago I was having severe abdomen pain, diverticulitis, treated with medication, the pain continued. Early one morning I knew I was going south, I told the husband I needed to go to ER. I was petrified because I heard TV hospital horror stories. I was taken in and evaluated, the next day I had emergency surgery for a perforated colon, I was near deaths door. I needed a colostomy bag also. They saved my life, I was a very sick and was hospitalized for 10 days. The treatment I received at The Village hospital was outstanding, my surgeon very competent. Four weeks ago the same surgeon reversed my colostomy bag. I have my wonderful rear-end back. ( I love her so much). Once again, I was treated well at The Village hospital, there was a few issues, but the husband was my advocate and took it under control.

We have also found an excellent internist. I see her on a regular basis, she's on top of my medical issues.

I wish you the best, please don't give up, there is excellent medical care here. Sometimes it's just tough finding your way.

[graciegirl]

I'm so sorry for your bad experience.

We moved here a year ago. The Husband was diagnosed with lymphoma, treated successfully at the Moffit center, he's in full remission.

I had ankle surgery in Orlando, physical therapy locally, very happy with results.

Four months ago I was having severe abdomen pain, diverticulitis, treated with medication, the pain continued. Early one morning I knew I was going south, I told the husband I needed to go to ER. I was petrified because I heard TV hospital horror stories. I was taken in and evaluated, the next day I had emergency surgery for a perforated colon, I was near deaths door. I needed a colostomy bag also. They saved my life, I was a very sick and was hospitalized for 10 days. The treatment I received at The Village hospital was outstanding, my surgeon very competent. Four weeks ago the same surgeon reversed my colostomy bag. I have my wonderful rear-end back. ( I love her so much). Once again, I was treated well at The Village hospital, there was a few issues, but the husband was my advocate and took it under control.

We have also found an excellent internist. I see her on a regular basis, she's on top of my medical issues.

I wish you the best, please don't give up, there is excellent medical care here. Sometimes it's just tough finding your way.

OH my dear girl. I am so glad to hear this happy ending and many hugs for your ordeal. SO GLAD you are o.k.

[Josie70]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;


I saw my doctor and he thought I had a lung infection. Things got worse so
I called him the next day (Friday) and got an answering machine , I did leave a message but never got a return call.

I had been coughing blood for several days , I developed severe chest pain so I decided to go to the E.R.;
After I was checked in I got an EKG and was sent to the waiting area.
3 hours later I had not even got to the insurance person yet. At this point A lady came into the area and announced there was 5 ambulances and another on the way , We were told we would not expect to be seen anytime soon because of this.

I then left

We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues.
I don't see it here !

I agree with you...I think if I was to get sick I would go back to NY..My mother passed away 2 weeks ago from cancer and we didnt even know she was dying from bone and spine cancer until the third time we took her to the hospital and the nurse turned her over and felt a lump on her breast she asked me if my mother never had cancer and I told her yes 14 years ago ..that is when they took more test and told me she had cancer in her bones..We have been living here for 3 years and going to the doctor for blood work and follow up and never once did they ever say she had cancer.she has been complaing of pains but they always said it was her age she was 93 and her bones were getting weak..she was only in the hospital 3 days and in hospice for 3 days and passed away it was a shock to me that my mother was dying of cancer and I didnt even know it...I will ask ques and go futher on certain things when I go to my doctor from now on....

[Lindahun]

I took my husband to the ER around 11:00 PM one night. He was in bad shape so they took him in the back to an area to be seen. The bed wasn't a regular bed, his legs hung over the end. At 2:00 AM I left and went home. He didn't get admitted till the next afternoon at 2:00 PM. His doctor came in and admitted him, he didn't see a doctor till then.

He had 4 doctors and 3 of them misdiagnosed him. The one that got it right had scans that his office misdiagnosed 3 months earlier They had been watching a spot on his lung. Needless to say, he has stage 4 lung cancer.

Linda

[rn1tv]

Gamby, you leave alot of questions to your post. Did you PCP order a chest xray and antibiotics? Did you call during regular business hours and get a recording and, if so, did you call back? I know of no MD in the area that does not have an after hours answering service and, if yours doesn't, the problem is your choice of MD, not TVRH.
If you were as ill as you state, why didn't you call 911 instead of transporting yourself? You state you left because of the long wait; did you go to another hospital where you received immediate care or did you go home? If you went home, obviously you were not that sick! As an RN-BSN, I am tired of people being so critical of TVRH.
Are you aware of the folks that abuse the EDs at all hospitals nationwide? People with problems that could be addressed at PCP offices, an urgent care center, people without insurance that have nowhere else to go because they are refused care elsewhere...the list goes on. If you feel that TVRH does not meet your needs, then please move...it seems you are abusing the ED like others who shouldn't be there.
I hope this post is not rejected by this site...both sides of the issue needs to be posted.

[gage405]

Gamby, you leave alot of questions to your post. Did you PCP order a chest xray and antibiotics? Did you call during regular business hours and get a recording and, if so, did you call back? I know of no MD in the area that does not have an after hours answering service and, if yours doesn't, the problem is your choice of MD, not TVRH.
If you were as ill as you state, why didn't you call 911 instead of transporting yourself? You state you left because of the long wait; did you go to another hospital where you received immediate care or did you go home? If you went home, obviously you were not that sick! As an RN-BSN, I am tired of people being so critical of TVRH.
Are you aware of the folks that abuse the EDs at all hospitals nationwide? People with problems that could be addressed at PCP offices, an urgent care center, people without insurance that have nowhere else to go because they are refused care elsewhere...the list goes on. If you feel that TVRH does not meet your needs, then please move...it seems you are abusing the ED like others who shouldn't be there.
I hope this post is not rejected by this site...both sides of the issue needs to be posted.

My only comment to your post is that I do not think people who have no insurance and nowhere else to go because they are refused care elsewhere are abusing the ER's when they go there.

[ilovetv]

My only comment to your post is that I do not think people who have no insurance and nowhere else to go because they are refused care elsewhere are abusing the ER's when they go there.

I think the "abuse" of the ER she refers to is the type of complaint that is ridiculously minor, not the fact that they couldn't be treated elsewhere because of lack of money or insurance.

Honest, thinking people often don't know that ER's have a large portion of scammers who call it an "emergency" when they have something that literally, a school nurse would put a band-aid on or give 2 Tylenol for it.

But when you're not going to pay the bill, why be concerned about what's a "true" emergency?

[George Makrauer]

I had a very bad experience in the village hospital last week;.....We've been here 2 months and are considering moving out of the area because I need quality medical care due to multiple medical issues. I don't see it here !

Your eyesight is, regret to say, perfect about the general state of healthcare services for The Villages, particularly The Villages Hospital. This is one of the several reasons the Developer has teamed with the University of South Florida to establish a new healthcare system in the area. However, that solution is several years away from opening.

A number of Villagers visit Mayo Clinic Jacksonville for annual check-ups and then monitoring and coordination with the patient's local primary care doc throught the year. Our "local" primary care doc (for the last 8 years) is in Windermere; his is a so-called "concierge practice." We need to see him tomorrow; we call today; they give us a time; we drive one hour and get seen on time, no later than a 15 minute wait -- which beats ALL the unprofessional, uncaring and arrogant docs around here where you take 15 to 20 minutes to drive there and then wait for an hour and a half and more to be taken to a room and another half hour wait for the doc to condescend to see you. We have our primary care doc's cell phone number and can -- and do -- reach him 24x7 if we have an emergency.

Part of the new USF/Villages planned/desired healthcare system is to include a concierge doc component. Whether they can successfully -- for the patient -- pull it off remains to be seen. Successful concierge practices around the US are NOT institutional, they are entrepreneurial. The future Villages/USF healthcare system is going to be institutional; that's their challenge.

If you decide to move elsewhere in Florida seeking a quality healthcare environment, do NOT be misguided or misled by popular press lists such as the US News list of Best Hospitals in the US. In their 2012 list, for Florida they chose Tampa General Hospital. For knowledgeable healthcare management professionals personally suffering high cholesterol, reading that hospital rating caused more cardiac arrests than did their heart disease!

The Orlando area's Florida Hospital system is a much better area choice than is Tampa Bay. However, Florida Hospital's Celebration Health facility, which offers world-class high-tech destination medical specialty services, has a horrible waiting time problem in its ER, because Celebration Health is the closest ER trauma center to the theme parks, and everyone with a bleed or break or contusion of one kind or another gets sent there. Other Orlando hospital ERs are quicker with equal quality outcomes. There are, however, two concierge practices in Celebration and several in greater Orlando.

Good luck with your search and personal management of your healthcare resources.

[travelguy]

Well, I had a heart attack just over a year ago and I could not be more satisfied with the excellent care that I got, first from the EMT's, then in the Emergency Room, and finally from the cardiologist assigned to me. The only unpleasant incicdent was when the person in charge of billing got me so upset because she insisted on "shaking me down" while I was still bedridden because she wanted to resolve payment for the hospital stay. I finally got the billing department at the Leesburg location to intervene and all was well.
Perhaps when the 'Affordable Healthcare Act' takes effect we will have the healthcare that all of us are deserving of.

[rubicon]

Well, if you folks would simply schedule your emergencies well in advance, we wouldn’t have this problem. The ER could then more efficiently adjust their staffing levels accordingly.

EdV Well stated and spot on. These types of stories are ongoing. I opt for the Munro Medical Community and have found the doctors to be excellent and their staff very responsive.

Hopefully TV Hospital will eventually get its house in order perhaps they need new management?

[rjm1cc]

I think this can happen in any city. Suggest you do a little research on your local options before you give up.

[mrfixit]

I think this can happen in any city. Suggest you do a little research on your local options before you give up.

:agree:

IMHO.......Munroe in Ocala is a very good facility.

[ilovetv]

Well, I had a heart attack just over a year ago and I could not be more satisfied with the excellent care that I got, first from the EMT's, then in the Emergency Room, and finally from the cardiologist assigned to me. .......
...Perhaps when the 'Affordable Healthcare Act' takes effect we will have the healthcare that all of us are deserving of.

What is more likely is that the number of people using (or abusing) the E.R.'s will increase because there are not enough primary-care doctors to actually see, much less treat, all the people having a shiny new Medicaid card to use for getting "free" care with no deductible.....first-dollar coverage.

...."This is worrisome," said study author Dr. Colin West, an internist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "In the next decade, we will be 50,000 primary-care physicians short for the needs of the country."

Compounding the likely shortage is health care reform under the Affordable Care Act, which is expected to flood the system with new patients in the coming years....."

Study Foresees Shortage of Primary-Care Doctors - US News and World Report (http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/12/04/study-foresees-shortage-of-primary-care-doctors)

[shcisamax]

Hmmn.

[Suzi]

WOW. Quite a "tense" debate on a beautiful Christmas day ! Since its the day after Christmas, I'll put in my $0.2. It is extremely difficult to be in medicine these days - every patient thinks the world revolves around them. If they are sick...they need to be seen right away. In the office or ED...well, how is that possible? How can EVERYBODY be the most important? Is a laceration more important than coughing blood? How about an asthma attack? You see, someone has to make those decisions everyday and those people aren't very popular.....because EVERYONE thinks THEY are sick and more important than the OTHER person.
Believe me, health care providers don't wake up in the morning and think "lets see how many people can I **** off today". They are dedicated caring people who would want to have NO-ONE wait to be seen if they were sick. But thats not the way it works.
The system of healthcare in the country is broken. Certainly, some of it has been damaged by those who abuse the system (ie: going to ED instead of PCP). Some of the damage is caused by litigation and consumer demands. By the shear cost of caring for the masses (and of course everyone demands absolutely everything be done - from saving the crack addicts to 95 year olds with dementia) do you know what this costs? Some of the money we spend on terminal care could be spent to teach and hire more nurses and doctors. If you think its bad now, wait for the affordable health care act to kick in.
Like I said, EVERYONE thinks they are the most important. We need to have some serious dialog in this country about health care - what is affordable, what should people expect, and what part does individual responsibility play (ie: if you've been an alcoholic should we all pay for your liver transplant or if you weigh 400 lbs. should we pay to have your stomach stapled). These are tough questions but without some answers, how will we afford to take care of the masses? And how will we take care of all these people in a timely manner?

[thekeithfan]

We had the same experience there and my wife was admitted. Then the real waiting begins! We waited 27 hours to see a Dr.! Really he examined my wife at 1:15 AM!!! You see no one working at the hospital works for the hospital! The emergency room, radiology, doctors, don't work at the hospital the whole place is contracted out! After you leave a stay of 6 days (it takes six days to get the doctors in to see you) you get nearly a dozen bills from different people that saw you. If you need a Doctor they place a call and give the doctor 24 hours on a "call out" to get there! Most get there in 24 hours but some 27 or 28! Again from our experience. They need resident Doctors there (lots of them)! If you have anything wrong and you can possibly stay alive another half hour GO TO MONROE! MRMC Ocala.

[graciegirl]

The only experience we had was three years ago when our visiting grandson had an asthma attack in the middle of the night. He was immediately treated while his mother was somewhere else giving insurance information and his history was also immediatly assessed on line.

People were both professional and caring.

We don't go to the emergency room ever unless it is an emergency and if we had thought to call 911 we know he would have been quickly transported.

I suggest to all new folks to find a doctor and go to him/her and get set up. Get your records sent and be prepared to have some tests duplicated.

The only problem is finding just the right doctor in a brand new situation.

We are going to a D.O. after some hesitancy and some research. He has turned out to be pretty good. We had never consulted a D.O. before but actually their medical training is pretty close to M.D. We return to Cincinnati for our annual cancer doctor visits and Helene's cardiac visits. She, although an adult, continues to see cardiologists at Cincinnati Childrens because of a complicated heart birth defect.

Everyone has to do what his best for them, but being ready to have someone who knows your history is a good idea.

Health problems tend to come right along with birthdays.

[tsew22]

Question? If you call an ambulance, 911, living in the Villages, and request to be taken to Monroe Regional in Ocala, will they do it?

[Jhooman]

I'm so sorry about your ordeal.

Six months ago I went to the ER and I was admitted immediately. I had heard horror stories about The Village hospital, my concern was magnified. However, I was in acute pain. I ended up having emergency surgery for a perforated colon, which required a colostomy. I was in ICU for several days and then transferred to a floor. My treatment was outstanding. Three months ago I returned to The Village hospital and had the colostomy reversed. Once again my care was fabulous, the surgeon was brilliant. The only negative comment would be some of the nurse aids, they were lazy.

I wish you the best in finding satisfactory medical care.