[SusanOfWoodbury]

As already stated, there have been tons of notes on this subject.. But, I have one question? Did you contact the Hospital's management with your concerns?

[Cobh521]

I had a similar incident on 1/5/14. I presented at the ER with a very high blood pressure that I could not control. This was the first time that this happened. Having worked in the healthcare field for over 30 years, I knew that I could have a stroke. I waited in the ER for 5 hours before I was taken back to a bed. The triage nurse only checked my blood pressure twice during that time and said, yep it is very high. When I was brought back to a bed, the doctor told me my blood pressure was at a critical level. He ordered meds immediately and put me on an IV. I received great care by the doctor and staff once I was seen. They were very concerned that I waited so long. I spent the rest of the night in the hospital until I was stabilized. There needs to be communication between the triage area and the treatment area.

[scarecrow1]

Originally Posted by justjim

Thanks for your post and update regarding Villages Hospital ER. I was hoping the wait time was better but I agree with you that this is unacceptable.

We plan to go to Leesburg or Ocala if we have a similar need.

Just as bad there. They need more Hospitals, not more extended care as you may not make it there. Come on there are over 100,000 people here. Not enough hospitals or GOOD doctors.

[gjbl8114]

This was unfortunate - but here's a word to the wise..... Having worked in a hospital ER I can tell you that he was assessed and determined not to have a "true" medical emergency. That is why he was given a med and sent back to the waiting area. I know this is not something that will go over well with most of you, but, ER's are meant to serve "true" medical emergencies. Medical emergencies are described as life-threatening events such as heart attacks, strokes, profuse bleeding etc.

If he has health insurance, the worst is not yet over. His insurance won't be paying for that visit because the diagnosis to be sent to the insurer will not meet the criteria of a "medical emergency." There is nothingwrong with going to an ER if you suspect you have a life-threatening medical condition, however, be prepared to pay for all of the services if it turns out not to be such.

So, please don't blame TV's Medical Center for having patients wait for such an extended period of time- they were really doing you a favor - if your wait in any ER is ever more than an hour, you can believe that once you are seen, it will not be considered an emergency..... Sorry!!!!!

[Jullie]

Thanks for the info on Munroe! Personally I have had LONG waits in both Villages/Leesburg ER. Horrible....I try to go to the Urgent Care if possible.

[shcisamax]

Question: Does Urgent Care stitch people up? If I were to slice into my thumb and I was sure it required stitches, do I go to Urgent Care or the ER? If I fall off my bike and hit my head and don't know where I am, do I have someone call an ambulance with EMT's to take me to emergency or have someone call my husband to take me to Urgent Care. It is sometimes difficult to know where you should be going and you don't want to go to Urgent Care and THEN be sent to the hospital. I would really appreciate the answers to my two theoretical questions which might give a little guidance.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by gjbl8114

This was unfortunate - but here's a word to the wise..... Having worked in a hospital ER I can tell you that he was assessed and determined not to have a "true" medical emergency. That is why he was given a med and sent back to the waiting area. I know this is not something that will go over well with most of you, but, ER's are meant to serve "true" medical emergencies. Medical emergencies are described as life-threatening events such as heart attacks, strokes, profuse bleeding etc.

If he has health insurance, the worst is not yet over. His insurance won't be paying for that visit because the diagnosis to be sent to the insurer will not meet the criteria of a "medical emergency." There is nothingwrong with going to an ER if you suspect you have a life-threatening medical condition, however, be prepared to pay for all of the services if it turns out not to be such.

So, please don't blame TV's Medical Center for having patients wait for such an extended period of time- they were really doing you a favor - if your wait in any ER is ever more than an hour, you can believe that once you are seen, it will not be considered an emergency..... Sorry!!!!!

The person had a pre-existing condition and severe hydration. Where else should he have gone? Apparently the EMTs thought the ER was the place to go. They need ER facilities expansion at that hospital.

[bdabob]

Originally Posted by gjbl8114

This was unfortunate - but here's a word to the wise..... Having worked in a hospital ER I can tell you that he was assessed and determined not to have a "true" medical emergency. That is why he was given a med and sent back to the waiting area. I know this is not something that will go over well with most of you, but, ER's are meant to serve "true" medical emergencies. Medical emergencies are described as life-threatening events such as heart attacks, strokes, profuse bleeding etc.

If he has health insurance, the worst is not yet over. His insurance won't be paying for that visit because the diagnosis to be sent to the insurer will not meet the criteria of a "medical emergency." There is nothingwrong with going to an ER if you suspect you have a life-threatening medical condition, however, be prepared to pay for all of the services if it turns out not to be such.

So, please don't blame TV's Medical Center for having patients wait for such an extended period of time- they were really doing you a favor - if your wait in any ER is ever more than an hour, you can believe that once you are seen, it will not be considered an emergency..... Sorry!!!!!

Again, without going into too much detail, his history since childhood of severe small intestine issues where sometimes it "kinks" like a garden hose, was fully explained to the paramedics that drove him to the ER and to the receiving team at the ER. A simple abdominal X-Ray would have told them if this incident was indeed caused by his pre existing condition. The only remedy for this is to open him up and remove the "kink".
The x-Ray did take place at 4:30 am.
I do not believe he was given the timely care that his condition warranted.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by CFrance

The person had a pre-existing condition and severe hydration. Where else should he have gone? Apparently the EMTs thought the ER was the place to go. They need ER facilities expansion at that hospital.

According to our neighbor who serves on the hospital board that is the reason they are building an addition to the hospital.


Triage must be very difficult to do. I am concerned with the person with severe hypertension, dangerously high, that was not seen immediately. I thought cardiovascular emergencies were one of the top emergencies.


The waiting a long time in an emergency room isn't anything new, and it isn't confined to The Villages. A long time ago our oldest daughter broke both of her arms falling from a cheerleader pyramid and had to wait to be seen for several hours because of a huge bunch of life threatening emergencies that came in.


Usually senior citizens get some kind of priority, but most of us here fall into that category.


I think with the completion of the new addition to the hospital, some of this will be helped. But we keep growing. And we are the group most seen by the medical profession...so it is a very big problem. Now people who previously did not have insurance will go to the emergency room too. And right they should, but it will add to the wait.

[shcisamax]

Originally Posted by shcisamax

Question: Does Urgent Care stitch people up? If I were to slice into my thumb and I was sure it required stitches, do I go to Urgent Care or the ER? If I fall off my bike and hit my head and don't know where I am, do I have someone call an ambulance with EMT's to take me to emergency or have someone call my husband to take me to Urgent Care. It is sometimes difficult to know where you should be going and you don't want to go to Urgent Care and THEN be sent to the hospital. I would really appreciate the answers to my two theoretical questions which might give a little guidance.

Could someone please offer up guidance on where someone should go under the above circumstances?

[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by shcisamax

Could someone please offer up guidance on where someone should go under the above circumstances?

For a cut go to urgent care. They do stitches, IF they are open.

Its to bad the emergency room can not tell you to go across the street to urgent Care, instead of waiting for hours, for help.

[graciegirl]

Urgent care is backed up too at this time of the year. I had an appointment with Dr.Agbo last week, whose office is across from one of the urgent care sites and had a devil of the time finding a parking space. One of the other patients told me that he waited at the urgent care with his house guest for several hours before being seen a couple days prior.

[shcisamax]

This might be the one thing the developers have neglected...unless it showed profit in their business. I worry as the imaginary build out happens, there is not enough focus on real health support. Certainly, my post earlier about waiting for an ambulance for 15 minutes when someone is unconscious and having difficulty breathing is problematic.

[TrudyM]

Gee I really wanted to move here. Guess not

[marianne237]

What happened to the hospital that was planned for the south end of TV. It appears the area that was supposed to have it built on will now be villas. I've always worried about horrible accidents on I75. Where are the people taken? They're usually helicoptered to Tampa, Orlando or Shands.