Bonny - I only disagree partially. My point is, and I believe GE agrees with me, is that the ER is a disaster. The care may be wonderful and perfect once you get past the ER. IF you get past the ER.

My wife, an RN, has had great care during her two inpatient stays. But she has had two horrible experiences in the ER - and both were true emergencies.


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Yes, I have gone through emergency and there has been a long wait. With that being said, I worked in a very large hospital in Michigan and remember long waits then as well.
So many say, go to Ocala. A friend of mine went to the ER in Ocala a few months ago. They waited so long, they decided to come back to the Villages. She did end up getting admitted and spent 5 or 6 days in the TVRH.
The waiting rooms are a nightmare at most hospitals. Definitely agree they have to try and get a better system going.

ER at The Villages Hospital
 

It wasn't just the unnecessary wait. It was also inadequate care. Her Orthopaedic surgeon, who was chief-of-staff at the time, was so upset about the lack of care she received in the ER that he went to see the hospital CEO.


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And one more thing: TVRH ER has approx. 47,000 visits each year. Just where should all those people go??? If we didn't have the hospital, probably 40,000 would land in Leesburg. Just imagine what a nightmare 110 more patients/day would create in their ER.

That's an awful lot of visits GE. And they could not get permission for a hospital close to 466A???

I may be wrong, but I believe some property had been set aside in Brownwood for a second hospital some years ago. The recent expansion was likely done as an alternative.


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Then something must have changed. All of my husband's heart issues have been successfully treated through TVRH. He has received numerous stents, coded once after being admitted for elevating troponin levels (troponin is one of the indicators in heart issues). It took them 10 minutes to stabilize him enough to get him into the cath lab, where he received 2 more stents. Thanks to TVRH and their ER, he has survived 2 heart attacks with great outcomes.

I had a stent placed in September there. Maybe they just don't deal in open-heart surgeries?

i think it is terrible, uncaring and dumb staff

Dumb staff ? :confused:

They're not dumb, I have heard some of them speak:a20::a20::a20:

We have been to the Villages ER twice and both times had excellent care.

I was released from TVH yesterday after Falling at home and taken tto TVH and immediately triaged and admitted. The care and treatment was great and my only complaint was the lousy food. All in all a satisfactory experience.

Good to hear that.

To paraphrase our 40th president:

The closest thing to eternal life on Earth is a Villages Regional Hospital ER thread

That and lobster on the Three Word Thread.

I ran into a friend named John who threw out his hip a few days ago and said he had had a seven hour wait at the Villages Regional Hospital while in intense pain. I did not ask if they had offered him anything for this agony while he was waiting.

YUP....the food is pretty bad! We've experienced great care otherwise if you do get admitted! ER needs a bunch of re-vitalizing too I will admit!!

I actually liked the food. I figure as long as I don't have to cook it, it's good. LOL
Don't want to bite the hand that's feeding me! ;)

Whether it's an industry-leading "Company", a high-end "Development" or a acclaimed senior "Community" with over 100,000 residents - there are certain issues which are non-negotiable. And in this case Healthcare for The Villages' residents is one of them. There is no viable reason, financial or otherwise,for not having world-class facilities. Period. Forget the golf courses. Forget the recreation centers. For quality of life, Healthcare should be Paramount. "Losing money" is NO EXCUSE ! The most simplistic solution, while allowing for more complex remedies, is to raise the Maintenance Fees a small amount. With 50,000 residences, an increase of TEN DOLLARS a month would bring-in an additional SIX MILLION dollars a year. I suspect, but am not sure, that this would get things improved significantly. CEG - Santo Domingo

I had one occasion to use Metro Ambulance and hope I never need them again! I requested transport to Munroe Hospital in Ocala. The driver took the longest route possible, traveling Morse Blvd. rather than Buena Vista and going very slowly, not even at the speed limit, but under! It was like he was a taxi driver running up the meter! Meanwhile inside I was bleeding, an IV could not be started, and because of the slow moving ride, I had to accept going to The Villages Hospital, which was not my intention. With no medical assist inside, I could have gotten where I wanted to go had my husband driven me instead.

ER at The Villages Hospital
 

First of all, 6 million would be an unnecessary drop in the bucket. TVRH, based on its 2015 Form 990, had revenue of $161 Million. And this does not count revenue from Leesburg, its sister hospital. It had cash of $54 Million, and other liquid assets of $10 Million. It had a good balance sheet.

In addition, executive pay is very significant for a non-profit. The system ceo's compensation was $885 Thousand.

There is no reason for Villagers to be burdened by a tax, fee, or other assessment, so let's not even go there.

Since this is your second post, I would be pleased to help you understand any other issues that may concern you about hospital management and operations.


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I have heard this from others and would like to share my story. Our neighbor was taken by EMS to ER and of course, was put in a room quickly. When I arrived at 8 am there was no one in the waiting room. However, as the day went on, we watched as rooms were emptied and filled immediately. Constant turnover. When I left at 8 pm ( after my neighbor was finally admitted. ) the ER waiting room was full . I believe too that we need more ER service ... and often wonder if this can't be handled by Urgent Care facilities ??? Never quite understood why they close so early, as I think it would be helpful for them to pick up the "lighter" cases that dont' need a hospital stay. The Villages Hospital has an Urgent Care .. which, to my thinking , could be that place where peope with non-hospital type cases could go... and if it was then decided that they needed hospital .. they would be in the right place.

Maybe a committee should be formed to approach the hospital officials with their complaints and concerns. NOT much will happen without some action. Doesn't seem beneficial to come on social media sites and complain.


Addendum to the above: I was just reading a letter to the editor of my home-town newspaper in the midwest. It could have been written by many on this site (only insert the names where applied). The writer tells of her elderly dad who went to the ER (a Mayo sattelite hospital) and was there for 10 hrs before treatment. It's a long story of ambulance rides, transfers to other Mayo facilities then back to the nursing home over days/weeks. It was a sad commentary that probably is happening all over our country and not just here in The Villages! People continually say..."I won't go to TVRH but will go instead to ___insert hospital's name____". Then you hear a story from someone or several someone's whose experiences in those hospitals are equally not positive. My point is...medical care is changing very rapidly! What we remember from "back home" probably isn't like that anymore. But still what I stated in my original 2 sentences might be an option for us here.

I worked in a very good large hospital in Michigan. These stories are the same every where. I have several friends who work in hospitals and these same stories are told.

Thank you Bonny! You reinforce exactly what I was trying to share. It's not a happy thought, is it?? As we age and with the Medicare and supplemental ins. we all carry (differing but similar)...well it's just not a positive thing to think upon.

The folks who live in my former home-town remember the hospital, clinics and health-care they all had, like 20 to 50 yrs ago...maybe less. What's happening in my home state is like a monopoly and the patients are who are affected. It's not about "care" anymore, but about profit and money!

When I was 15 (1953), I was injured in a baseball game requiring a lot of stitches . Taken to Siani Hospital in Baltimore at about 7:30 pm. Was not seen by Dr until 3 hrs later and was discharged at around Midnight. Often our memories of better places and quicker times are mistaken or greatly exaggerated. Not saying that there is no chance for improvement.

When I was 11, 1952, I was at a hospital in Michigan and had my tonsils out. My bed was in the hallway for about 2 hours after surgery because there were no rooms.

I agree. This is happening right here in The Villages. AND it is happening all over the country. Just type in any combination of these words into your browser;

Long Emergency room wait.

Left to suffer in ER

Complaints about Emergency Room in...............(fill in the area, hospital or city)

Had to wait for six hours in Emergency room.

My wife allowed to suffer in E.R.

Personally I think it is possibly worse here because many people do NOT have their own physicians to consult because of not being full time. Things then become serious and painful and acute and dangerous.

ER at The Villages Hospital
 

I don't want to rain on everyone's parade, but the issues in the ER go beyond long waits.


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A great idea to form a committee! I will volunteer with you.

I will send you a pm with my information.

Not sure what other issues. I have been in the ER quite a few times and have had good care. A few by ambulance and a couple of walk ins.

For those who may want to review a fairly exhaustive list of the issues that Golfing Eagles and I have discussed on this thread, please feel free to note the following posts:
Post 83
Post 81
Post 53
Post 51
Post 40
Post 39
Post 37
Post 35
Post 31
Post 17
These do not, I believe contain posts by anyone other that GE, or me. I did this because I don't know the backgrounds of any other posters. GE is a physician and has worked in ERs and I ran hospitals for more than 40 years. I believe we are qualified to discuss our observations.

If GE disagrees with me, I am sure he will correct me.




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Could you rather just start a new thread with a summation and maybe some suggestions if there are things we can do to get this addressed? Health care is definitely important to all of us I am sure.

The posts I've listed accomplish the same thing as a summary.


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By the way, there was a letter to the editor, in the unnamed online news, today from a cardiac nurse. You might want to read it.


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I think we have agreed 100% on everything in this thread, no need to change now:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

That letter says a lot. Thanks for pointing it out!!

FYI, the villages is right in the middle of a rapidly growing area and will soon have a population that is way bigger than health care places such as the urgent care and/or the ER. It has been said many times before the Villages will very soon over build the complete infrastructure. This seems to always happen to fast growing areas; the planners never plan for super necessary things....they plan for nicessities like golf courses and swimming pools, etc.....you folks that say there is room for all in the Villages will one day regret saying that when we merge with Orlando and Jacksonville. What we need is an elected planning and zoning committee like all larger cities....NOT the Morse family......who are the 15th riches people in the USA. Your right that all things that cost money and has to have a good medical facility for a community of 55 Year old plus folks is a necessity for all. Sorry for the misspelling…..

Not sure where you got your information about the wealth of the Morse family being the 15th richest.
I just went on Forbes. The Morse name was nowhere on the top 100 richest people. The Morse name also was not anywhere on the list of the 20 richest families.

"What we need is an elected planning and zoning committee like all larger cities"


Which city's "elected planning board" would you like TV to emulate----Detroit or Baltimore??? Yeah, right, lets elect a bunch of amateurs, wannabees and busybodies rather than a family with 40 years experience of financial and developmental success to plan our future. I don't want people who have not been successful in life to run things----there is a reason that they lacked success in the first place

As far as TVRH goes, people seen to think this is the only place in the country with healthcare problems. I have found it is the norm, rather than the exception. If you look at the waiting times as well as the scores for CHF, MI and pneumonitis, TVRH is right about the national average. What you find on TOTV is a bunch of anecdotes where posters want to tell their individual "horror story", as they remember it. I wish they would take 5 of these and do a root cause analysis to find the real story. I would especially like to do one on the story of the 90 year old woman with a hip fracture who supposedly laid on a stretcher without being seen and without pain meds for 22 hours. I want to see the time she arrived, was triaged, was seen by nurse, doctor, had pain medication, had lab and xray ordered, when the results were received, when orthopedics saw her and when she went to the OR, all with documented times. I'm pretty well convinced that the truth would be quite different. And IF, and it's a huge if, probably an insurmountable one, the story was the same as related on TOTV, then I don't think it would have been posted here. That individual would be camped out in their lawyer's office, because it would be an open and shut case of malpractice, with a substantial pain and suffering award despite the patient's age. In addition, that treatment would be so far below the standard of care that it is likely millions of dollars in punitive damages would be awarded as well.
I can't tell you how many times a family member would come to the ER desk and ask what is happening with their relative----"I've been waiting 4 hours and haven't heard anything". I'd pick up the chart and inform them that they arrived in the ER 47 minutes ago, and already had an IV, lab drawn, x rays performed and their doctor informed they were here. I would then be called a liar---"I know we've been here 4 hours". My only response was "Use a clock much????"

Hmm... that happened to me at the ER room in Key West. I was there for three hours before they called me in for their "triage," or whatever it was. So three hours later when I still hadn't been seen and went to inquire, they said No, you've only been here three hours according to your chart. Of course, they based their time on the triage time, not the time I signed in. Another three hours and I kicked up a fuss. So all told, I was there for 9 hours before they informed me there was no one there to run the diagnostic I needed.

So it depends on whose clock you're using. And I wouldn't have put up with such a smart-ass response. These folks are in stressful situations.