Exactly! That ER is almost as crazy as Kings County in Brooklyn

See my post... for Trauma or immediate Medical... yeah, it is.... once stable though... get the hell outta dodge.

One can travel to any ED department sit in waiting room for 30 minutes. You will never find any ED department that doesn’t have to deal with all of the above.

Sadly once one enters no matter what the complaint every ED needs to waste time with a eval, tests, and yes conversations that you hear everyday at the grocery checkout line.

Legally the staff has an obligation to treat once entered into system.

The only saving grace is newer ED departments are being restructured to include a small Urgent Care. So non life threatening can be treated without taking away life threatening events.

Nothing like being in the trauma room, trying to save a 3yo gunshot, while the person 3 curtains down is loudly complaining their finger hurts, I Need Help Now.

That is the patient you will find complaining about how bad the care was at ______________ED, or Hospital.

ER
 

Check the standalone ER are affiliated with certain Hospitals. Ex. The ER on 466A
Uses HCA Florida in Ocala.

Great experience from both

Manhattan is about 25 square miles and the Villages is about 32 square miles. Both ERs on 44 and 466a have a good reputation. I do not plan to move to Manhattan any time soon to be close to their hospitals.

though it's a bit away, in an emergency i used advent waterman. yes, i drove farther, but had excellent care & i'd do it again if i had to

not always, i've been recommended to places i'd never go again

UF Health ER's and Hospital's
 

I will make one admission. I volunteer at the UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital in The Villages. Villagers tend to have long memories and closed minds about the possibility of change. UF Health has made many changes/improvements at this facility and these improvements are making huge differences in patient care, from how people seem to remember this facility. If I had a medical emergency, this is where I am going. The UF Health system has numerous top notch facilities in the Central Florida area.

This part of Central Florida is a medical hodge-podge. Good doctors, a few REALLY good doctors, with mediocre doctors all mixed up and scattered throughout.

In an actual life-or-death emergency, you go to the closest facility that can handle the nature of the emergency. For me, that'd be Spanish Plaines hospital, since they're less than 3 minutes away from my house by car, assuming the traffic light at Morse and 441 is green when you cross 441.

For Urgent Care, I'd probably go to somewhere nearby. As long as they're in-network on my insurance. I use The Villages Health for most of my regular medical needs and all my specialists are either on the Spanish Plains/TVH campus, or within a few blocks of the Historic Section of the community. Even my dentist is nearby (next to Aldi's and golf-cart accessible).

Once I'm old enough for medicare, I'll have to revisit my options. But for emergencies, I'll go to the closest place.

I was taken here by ambulance in December. ER was quick to see me and thought the care was good. Spent 3 days and thought care was good. Did not see the nurses as much as I would have liked but they seem to be very busy and short staffed.

Food was surprisingly good.

I beg to differ
 

I have had several experiences with the Spanish Plaines Hospital and was into a room in the ER really quickly (all 3 times). The staff were VERY nice and knowledgeable. Many years back I could not have said the same, but it's changed for the better!!!!

I was focusing on AH/W myself as I understand it is a very good hospital and possibly the best in the area though it would be a distance from Watercrest Buena Vista ALF (Buena Vista and 466) where we are looking for my mom. I had asked at the ALFs we visited if the Free Standing ERs were 911 receiving and was told no, she will be brought to the hospital in Spanish Springs. I would much prefer the Free Standing ERs, *IF* they are well suited to handle a life threatening condition ie: cardiac arrest.

The new AH/W Free Standing ER you mentioned on 466A just past Colony shopping Plaza would be 15mins from her location. Which might put it in 'closest hospital' range. Again, if they are 911 receiving.

Though what I find questionable is, would the pt then stay at the FS ER until they are stable enough to move ? Is the FS ER staffed to handle a situation like that ? What if the pt needed a stent or some other procedure ? There are two (466a & 44) that I know of, I will speak with both.

That problem is in no way limited to "old people"...

Bingo. It worked for us.

Keep in mind, that if you go to a local stand-alone ER and you need to be admitted, you will then have to be transported to a hospital. Why not go to the ER in a hospital?

True however until the Stroke bus is up and running, you want to get to the closest ED for immediate treatment. traveling 20 minutes farther without meds is asking non reversible issues.

The correct answer is: AdventHealth Belleview ER located at 6006 SE Abshier Blvd, Belleview, FL 34420. This ER saved my life 1.5 years ago when I had a heart attack. Within minutes they had properly diagnosed me, stabilized me and then quickly transferred me to Ocala AdventHealth where 2 days later I had 5 by passes. Awesome, first-class immediate care from A to Z with wonderful doctors and nurses. Also, God-fearing, believing, praying Doctors, Surgeons, and nurses who are not afraid to pray out loud as you are going under for the surgery of your life. I can't thank them enough.

A stroke is not the only reason to go to an ER. What about all the other emergencies that may require admittance? Hopefully, the ambulance personnel will be allowed to give some advice.

A physician can direct admit, without clogging the ED. I consider a trip to any ED a life threatening event. Bypassing the closest medical facility would mean life or death. Ambulance staff will inform what ED isn’t taking patients, and what would be the next facility available. Chopper, you aren’t making any decisions.

Emergency has a different definition for us. If one of our kids needed stitches, it was cleaned, butterflied or sutured, antibiotics administered at the kitchen counter. A fracture was a trip to the office take an X-ray, and cast.
Our 3yo granddaughter windows had X-rays, instead of blinds, at 5 she pointed out her growth plate fracture, before we read the X-ray. None of our kids or grandchildren have ever walked into an ED. For us two direct admit, both while working.

Unless an event is a tragic accident, activate CPR, Stroke, or unable to respond, ED wouldn’t be first on the list.

Thank you for providing the one "correct" answer :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Once you pick yourself up off the floor laughing, you may want to reread the OP, then reread my post. There was no mention of world class hospital, he only referred to another ER and I was referring to the nearest ER where my brother lives which is Grady.

I was actually being facetious because only an idiot (my brother) would ignore the nearest ER in an actual emergency. If one attempts to drive further for their choice of ER, then either there is no real emergency or the ME will need to be notified once the body is located.

Facetious - sarcasm or saying something in jest. :boxing2:

Thank you for the definition of facetious--now I don't have to look it up in the dictionary. DOH! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:----still rolling on the floor

Disagree, ignoring the closest ER might be a very wise idea. I’ve only experienced one true actual emergency in my life and made a very bad mistake by choosing the closest ER, the former Villages Hospital. After waiting 12 hours only to be failed miserably by the closest ER, my wife drove me to the ER at a real hospital in Gainesville. They immediately assessed my condition and admitted me straight into their critical care department. The difference in the quality of care I got between the two places couldn’t have possibly been further apart. Thanks to my wife, I was able to get to a hospital that saved my life. Call me jaded from that experience, but there is absolutely no way I’ll ever go back to the ER on El Camino Real.

I rarely make a comment about a facility, however I agree UF is a glorified surgery center. No emergency surgery, either you wait until next day, or shipped out.
While there isn’t anything wrong with the facility itself, or floor staff. Physicians are definitely more miss than a hit.

After closely listening to the on call cardiologist, we both respectfully declined any procedures. Asked for a discharge, which refused, because and I quote “You will die if you walk out” you have no idea what is happening.

My spouse smiled and said, before a physician thinks he can walk on water, you might want to ask a few questions of the patient instead of intimidation. So a little background, I have 10 years of “open heart”, in my 40 plus year career.

So here is what I think is the problem, you have withheld all fluids, no IV, and all meds for 31 hours, for cause and effect. Physician, then looked at my spouse and said this must be confusing to make a decision. I smiled “not really I also have 40 year OR career.

Discharge written. We travel to Gainesville or emergent Leesburg. While no ED is perfect or the facility itself, experience is on our side

Background: I'm a retired paramedic, my wife is a ER director with 40 years in trauma centers. She now runs a standalone ER.

1 - All ERs are not equal, based on certifications they have and what services the hospital has. Some are trauma centers, some are stroke centers, some are cardiac centers, some have hyperbaric medicine, some are burn centers, etc.

2 - In a real emergency, call 911. The EMS crew knows which facilities specialize in what, and where the best place is to go for YOUR specific problem. They also know which hospital's MRI is down, or their cardiac cath lab is down, or they have no orthopedic coverage tonight, or they're on trauma bypass.

3 - Standalone ERs are great for many things, like isolated broken bone, stitches, fever/flu, general illness, chronic conditions, etc. They're great, and they usually have short wait times.
BUT ALSO, they are real ERs with ER doctors and ER nurses, and are fully equipped to handle anything that comes through the door. My wife's handles gunshot wounds, stabbings, cardiac arrests, strokes, etc.
In a life threatening emergency, I would go to the standalone ER across the street rather than wait to go to the hospital ER that's 10 minutes away.
A standalone ER can administer clot-buster drugs to stop a heart attack or a stroke, they can stabilize severe allergic reactions, airway or lung problems, or most other true emergencies and then transfer to the hospital for further care.

ER care
 

I have been involved with 3 ER visits by family members in the last two years. Have had nothing but excellent care. My opinion as a physician.