[dillywho]

My husband went to the Leesburg hospital on Tuesday morning. Our doctor works out of there since he no longer has privileges at TVRH because the powers that be decided that he lived too far away. Nothing to do with him or his abilities. Also, hubby's other doctors have offices in both Leesburg and The Villages. My husband was getting weaker and was sleeping more than usual. The doctor wanted to check him into the hospital to see just what was going on. I had called him on Monday evening and he suggested that I wait until early Tuesday morning, if I felt ok about it, because they would not be so busy. I did. Still don't have any answers, but we do know what it isn't.

For those who are constantly complaining (to use nicer wording) about the Villages Hospital, I have news for them. The wait is just as long in Leesburg. We got to the ER at 8:15, and my husband was triaged. There was one other person there, who was taken in first. They took us back to a room in the ER pretty quickly, but it was 7:30 that evening before he went to a room. Their ER filled up pretty quickly, and yes, they had to put some in the hallway to wait as the day progressed, starting around 9.

I found out that doctors are sending patients in through the ER (except for scheduled surgeries, procedures, etc.) to get the initial testing, etc. done. This is especially true for admission for observation.

There are some real as****** around and they, I am sorry to say, are Villagers. One guy was in a wreck and came into the ER room right next to us. The paramedics warned the nurses that he was a jerk to them, so to watch out. They said he refused to get off his phone so that they could check him, cursed them, etc. Sure enough, the first thing he did was start trying to throw his weight around the ER, making demands. He cursed at the first nurse, telling her she was treating him like a child and that he was XX-years old, for her information. (No child of mine would act like that without getting their butt busted, for sure.) She was treating him no differently than any other patient, my husband included. He told her to get out of there and go home, since SHE was apparently having a bad day. He DEMANDED she call her supervisor, which she did. He told her supervisor that he demanded that they bring him to Leesburg because the hospital at The Villages was so bad and that apparently Leesburg wasn't any better, from the way he was being "treated". He DEMANDED that they check to see if the ER doctor was part of his insurance and if not, get him one that was. This whole time, he was on his blasted cell phone, just as he was when they wheeled him in. Security finally had to be called to deal with him. I told the nurse that I had heard EVERYTHING and that if he got any money-making notion of filing suit, I would back THEM up. One-hundred percent total jerk!!!

Funny part of it, though, when his wife got there, he suddenly became Mr. Nice Guy. (Must know better than to mess with her!) That was hysterical!! After going through being checked, x-rays, blood work, etc., AND the ER doctor on duty, he was dismissed and walked out with his wife and their friend. And on his phone again, almost as soon as his feet hit the floor!

We finally got a room around 7:30 that evening. They do have to wait until someone has been dismissed and the room cleaned. Personally, I could see NO DIFFERENCE in going to the ER in Leesburg and going to TVRH. Both have been outstanding!

The best thing about going to Leesburg was their new Short Stay Wing, which is all private rooms. I could stay with him around the clock and not have to travel back to The Villages at night.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by rjm1cc

Fortunately I have no experience with the ER facility.
Up north the hospitals I used gave ER priority to those who arrived by ambulance. We were at a doctors office and were told to go to the ER. According to the Doctor and his experience we could take an ambulance from his office and be seen when we arrived. If we drove ourselves it could take several hours. We drove and it took longer to be seen that those arriving by ambulance. It seems that the ER is being used over its capacity.

The problem is that when you go to the ER you might not be sure how serious your problem is and if you should go to a more remote facility for treatment. For starters I would learn where other facilities are located and how long the average wait is. Then when an emergency occurs you have to make a judgment on where to go. I know one or more hospitals in Ocala let you make an emergency room appointment before you leave home. Of course they still take the most serious person first. Guess we all have to do a little home work and some postings on experience with other ER's would helpful.

Contrary to popular belief, you are not seen quicker if you go in by ambulance. The only difference is that they are in contact with the hospital and it seems that ER triage is the only thing you by-pass. The last time my husband fell, I called 911. When we got to the ER, we waited a very long time in the hallway. The paramedics explained all this to me. They also told me that there is 511, which is a non-emergency paramedic call. They said that if he experienced another fall and I was certain that he was not having a heart attack, unconscious, etc., to call that number and tell them the situation and ask for a lift assist. The bad part about going in by ambulance just to be seen sooner, which you aren't, it still ties up paramedics until you are seen. This keeps them from responding to truly life-threatening emergencies. I really appreciated their telling me about the non-emergency number.

Hope this helps.

[crabbyannie1]

Originally Posted by Bonny

It seems to me that this wasn't a real emergency requiring a trip to the Hospital ER if someone could just decide to go home because it was taking too long. Maybe a better choice would have been to go to Urgent Care.
I'm thankful we have a hospital here. I have been in the ER a few times and have had several stays in the hospital. Wonderful care.

I agree. The problem is that Urgent Care is not a 24 hour operation, so people who would definitely benefit cant get sick after hours. It's off to the ER with you, where you are triaged and wait. As for ambulance patients being seen first, let me assure you that this is not the case, ad I was taken by ambulance to TVRH thinking I had a stroke. I spent 5 minutes in the ER bay, was triaged, decided it was not a stroke, and sent into the ER waiting room, where I waited an additional 7 hours. When I was finally seen by a Dr., I was sent for a CT scan and admitted. Once I was in a bed, everything was fine. My hubby, however, was sent from the doctor's office to the ER by ambulance and had an excrutiatingly horrendous experience, even after he was admitted. Our doctor was furious and had him discharged.

[dillywho]

GolfingEagles: Could part of the problem be that the ER does not have its own lab, etc., and has to use the same lab for tests as the remainder of the hospital? Could this be part of the reason why wait times are so long, and it seems that nobody is doing anything? Could that be because they can't do anything until the results are back? I don't know if this is the case, but it looks to be. I know we have had to wait quite a while to find out what blood work, x-rays, etc. have shown. Then, the doctor would come in with a decision as to treatment or admit for further testing, etc.

Thanks

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by MrGolf

Plain and simple. The coverage and response time at The villages Hospital emergency room stinks. People go there because it's convenient. Then they wait, and wait, and wait. If you have an option, get someone to tanke you to Shands. A UF teaching hospital. After 8 hrs. In the emergency room and finally being transported via ambulance to Shands I can say first hand, I won't go back to The Village Hospital for anything. This is not a Morse issue, it could be a life and death issue. They built a good city but the medical piece of it got lost in the shuffle. Agreed privatization takes over and so do economies of scale. And above all good old fashioned profit. The king of privatization

When my husband had his first heart attack, the paramedics told us that he was in the throes of a heart attack, immediately making contact with TVRH. It was a little after 1:00 a.m. when he was loaded and we were off to TVRH. When we got there, they were waiting for him, had already called in the cath team, got him ready to go up, he got a stent, and was in ICU by around 4:30 a.m..

In all probability, he would never have made it to Leesburg, much less Shands.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by dillywho

GolfingEagles: Could part of the problem be that the ER does not have its own lab, etc., and has to use the same lab for tests as the remainder of the hospital? Could this be part of the reason why wait times are so long, and it seems that nobody is doing anything? Could that be because they can't do anything until the results are back? I don't know if this is the case, but it looks to be. I know we have had to wait quite a while to find out what blood work, x-rays, etc. have shown. Then, the doctor would come in with a decision as to treatment or admit for further testing, etc.



Thanks

Even if it uses the same lab, ER results are usually given priority over other patients. It would be unusual, in my experience to see a duplicate lab just for the ER. A stat lab might be nearby though.

Radiological exams, for the most part, can be done in the ER with portable equipment. In some hospitals there is a dedicated CT and/or MRI adjacent to the ER. I don't know about at TVRH. Usually this is done at larger hospitals, especially trauma centers - which TVRH is not.


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[dillywho]

Originally Posted by dbussone

Even if it uses the same lab, ER results are usually given priority over other patients. It would be unusual, in my experience to see a duplicate lab just for the ER. A stat lab might be nearby though.

Radiological exams, for the most part, can be done in the ER with portable equipment. In some hospitals there is a dedicated CT and/or MRI adjacent to the ER. I don't know about at TVRH. Usually this is done at larger hospitals, especially trauma centers - which TVRH is not.


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Thank you. I was just wondering and looking for possible explanations for wait times.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by dbussone

Even if it uses the same lab, ER results are usually given priority over other patients. It would be unusual, in my experience to see a duplicate lab just for the ER. A stat lab might be nearby though.

Radiological exams, for the most part, can be done in the ER with portable equipment. In some hospitals there is a dedicated CT and/or MRI adjacent to the ER. I don't know about at TVRH. Usually this is done at larger hospitals, especially trauma centers - which TVRH is not.


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Quite true. And it only takes 3 min to run a CBC and 15 min to spin and run a chem profile

[mikeritz53]

My wife was bitten by what we were told later was probably a Marion County Brown Scorpian. She started to have problems with breathing so we went to The Villages Emergency. We stood at the front counter while a Nurse came and went 3 times without acknowledging us. I finally stopped her to ask what the process was and without her asking what was wrong said, and I quote "you're not dying so go sit down and wait like everyone else". We of course walked out and got to an Urgent Care unit and they rushed her into a room and gave her shots immediately as they could see she was in Crisis. Needless to say we will drive to Leesburg before we ever would visit the Village Hospital Emergency again.

[Roberta Forcina]

That is not good to hear. For all the positive and wonderful advertisements about the Villages, to me, this is of great concern and must be addressed.

[Jdmiata]

Since moving here ten years ago I have been to this emergency room three times ( twice for myself ). My waits were ALL in excess of eight hours. Two of these visits required being admitted to the hospital. Once I was put in what looked like a storage room , awaiting a bed in the hospital. Horrible experiences.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Jdmiata

Since moving here ten years ago I have been to this emergency room three times ( twice for myself ). My waits were ALL in excess of eight hours. Two of these visits required being admitted to the hospital. Once I was put in what looked like a storage room , awaiting a bed in the hospital. Horrible experiences.

Hopefully, hospitals will begin constructing new ones and additions to existing ones with all private rooms. Even though that might be more costly in the beginning, it should alleviate some of the problems such as you describe. Unfortunately, I have seen the same thing over and over in other hospitals, so it is just not TVRH or Leesburg. It also occurs in other cities/states.

Sometimes the wait for a room can be lengthy because they cannot and should not be co-ed. I am sure you understand that they cannot send someone home just because there is another patient still in ER waiting to get to a room. Getting patients out of the ER and into a room is beneficial both to the ER staff and other patients needing ER assistance.

[PennBF]

It is amazing that some are making excuses for the bad treatment or timely attention in the ER at the TVRH! It is a disgrace this is happening and if there is a problem that has 1-3 hours (which is what it is taking + in the TVRH) that the patient does not go to a good facility?? Does it concern anyone that if the ER is so badly organized and/or the treatment that the medical care, (e.g. diagnosis) may be suffering the same problem. I am sure the care of the house, or the car does not exceed the body and how many are concerned they have the right mechanic or landscaper while settleing for whoever appears in the ER? I also think the Developer who takes great pride in the homes and growth of The Villages should take more time to understand the alleged bad medical treatment and do something!!!

[lakeoscawana]

My grandson came for a visit when he was 3 yrs old. He had a seizer and we rushed him to the Villages hospital where we waited 5 hours. We never saw a doctor; only an n.p. I witnessed a man pressing against his chest clearly in pain who also waited. there was NO ONE IN ATTENDANCE WHEN WE GOT THERE....only volunteers who could only tell you to take a seat.
Months later, I spoke to a woman who is a nurse who WORKS THERE, and asked her about this experience whether it was the norm and she told me if her family needed emergency help, she would go to Leesburg, NOT to The Villages!
Where are The Villages standards??? Why is this tolerated in a place with such High Standards for so many other things?
Is there anything more important than our HEALTH?

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by dillywho

Hopefully, hospitals will begin constructing new ones and additions to existing ones with all private rooms. Even though that might be more costly in the beginning, it should alleviate some of the problems such as you describe. Unfortunately, I have seen the same thing over and over in other hospitals, so it is just not TVRH or Leesburg. It also occurs in other cities/states.

Sometimes the wait for a room can be lengthy because they cannot and should not be co-ed. I am sure you understand that they cannot send someone home just because there is another patient still in ER waiting to get to a room. Getting patients out of the ER and into a room is beneficial both to the ER staff and other patients needing ER assistance.

Sounds good in theory, but you cannot just start building hospitals.

ALL new hospitals, all expansion of hospitals, adding rooms, or even changing rooms to private REQUIRES STATE GOVERNMENT APPROVAL. I may think we need more beds, YOU may think we need more beds, THE HOSPITAL may think it needs more beds, but none of that matters, only if THE STATE agrees can it be done. Welcome to the bureaucracy !