[Frank495]

Not true.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Quixote

The formal guidelines followed in rating hospitals is very different from one's personal experience at those hospitals.

Recently my son was admitted to TVRH's ER with a cardiac issue. I wrote up a description of our experience there (I stayed with him every minute!), and brief as I tried to make it, it's simply too long to post in a thread. If you're interested, please PM me and I'll send it through that channel. Thank you.

Suffice it to say that my son's experience in the ER was the antithesis of my experience in that same ER following an accident more than a dozen years ago....

Briefly was your experience good or bad?

[OhioBuckeye]

I’m not a judge of hospitals but after I had my 5 way heart bypass. We moved to TV, & the biggest thing my heart surgeon told me was stay clear of anyone that has a virus, & all I needed was a check up, so what does the TV’s hospital do is put me in a waiting room with the flu people but fortunately nobody was puking, but I’m guessing there was 4 people had puke buckets with them. My mistake was I didn’t leave & the waiting room nurses never once offered me a safer place to sit, so finally I decided to sit outside where I thought it was safer! I really thought TV hospital was the #1 hospital in the country, wrong! But the comment I’m addressing this to is exactly right!

[blueash]

Several statements on this thread are wrong. CMS does not only use Medicare data in its rating system. In fact one of the criteria is maternity care related. Some sets of data are collected only from Medicare enrollment and claims

It is not entirely correct that the rating is based on facts not opinions as 22% of the rating is based on patient experience, which is a compilation of several questions asked about the care received both from caregivers and staff. This patient experience survey is adjusted for the mix of patients served so TVH's numbers are not low because they have a lot of old people who can't understand directions.

Communication with doctors
Communication with nurses
Responsiveness of hospital staff
Cleanliness of the hospital
Quietness of the hospital
Communication about medicines
Discharge information
Care transition
Overall rating of hospital
Willingness to recommend hospital

On the question of "Would you recommend this hospital " an extremely low number of persons who received care at TVH said yes, 44% compared to a national average of 69%.

So all of you posting here about how you enjoyed your stay at TVH, you are in the minority.

[Plinker]

Originally Posted by blueash

Several statements on this thread are wrong. CMS does not only use Medicare data in its rating system. In fact one of the criteria is maternity care related. Some sets of data are collected only from Medicare enrollment and claims

It is not entirely correct that the rating is based on facts not opinions as 22% of the rating is based on patient experience, which is a compilation of several questions asked about the care received both from caregivers and staff. This patient experience survey is adjusted for the mix of patients served so TVH's numbers are not low because they have a lot of old people who can't understand directions.


On the question of "Would you recommend this hospital " an extremely low number of persons who received care at TVH said yes, 44% compared to a national average of 69%.

So all of you posting here about how you enjoyed your stay at TVH, you are in the minority.

Statistically speaking, the opinions on this site of good care/bad care are worthless. The “n” is far too small to arrive at a true assessment of the overall care of The Villages Hospital. The one-star rating is based on the metrics you have stated and the “n” is likely in the tens of thousands. Why go to a one-star hospital when there are higher rated hospitals within a reasonable driving distance? If diagnosed with cancer, would you seek treatment at TV hospital or take the drive to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa that is rated number 10 in the nation?
Your body, your choice.

[rstebbins]

It is nice to see many good ratings and positive experiences above. The 5th floor of the hospital is a separate acute rehab unit. The hospital rating does not include that facility. I was recenlty in the rehab unit for six days after a severe bicycle accident (broken leg, ribs and collar bone), and can't say enough about the quality of the staff and care that I received preparing me the next stage of recovery at home. Would not hesitate to use that facility rather than driving to the other two available in Ocala.

[wolfie]

I was there three times and each time they were excellent, when the snow birds are here, they are over worked and under staffed, I do not know what Medicare is looking for, but in my eyes, the Village Hospital is excellent and the people that work they are very dedicated. The problem is it's a small hospital. it cannot handle the population that The Villages has grown to remember everybody in the villages goes to the Village Hospital of Leesburg, there are the hospitals you want to go to Jacksonville that's a thousand bed hospital The Villages is only 400 beds

[rstebbins]

If you ever need an acute rehab facility the 5th floor of the hosiptal is a seperate legal entity that provides those services. The hospital 1 rating does not include the rehab unit. I was recently there for 6 days after a severe bicycle accident (broken ribs, collarbone and, and leg/hip) I can't say enough about the quality of the staff and care I received preparing me for the next phase of recovery at home. Would not hesitate to go there again if I needed care rather than going to the facilities in Ocala.

[Stryker]

My personal experience at the Villages hospital was quite bad. I’m sure many have had good outcomes, but with a 1 star rating there must be a systemic problem. Believing what they told me, it was just a month later that I had to return north for surgery for a problem they didn’t, but easily could have identified. I hope, should have an emergency, I can be transported anywhere else. When the VH comes up in discussions, I have heard repeated descriptions of experiences just like mine. I have seen posts here about the hospital serving a large community of older people. Ok, then make the changes, and hire the people who know how to keep older people alive, and healthy. I believe the 1 star assessment is generous. I hope they manage the hospital in a way that will get them 5 stars. In the meantime perhaps I need a bracelet that says ‘anywhere but the villages’

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I believe the 1 star assessment is generous. I hope they manage the hospital in a way that will get them 5 stars. In the meantime perhaps I need a bracelet that says ‘anywhere but the villages’

A highly visible tattoo might be a better idea!

[charlie1]

Originally Posted by Stryker

My personal experience at the Villages hospital was quite bad. I’m sure many have had good outcomes, but with a 1 star rating there must be a systemic problem. Believing what they told me, it was just a month later that I had to return north for surgery for a problem they didn’t, but easily could have identified. I hope, should have an emergency, I can be transported anywhere else. When the VH comes up in discussions, I have heard repeated descriptions of experiences just like mine. I have seen posts here about the hospital serving a large community of older people. Ok, then make the changes, and hire the people who know how to keep older people alive, and healthy. I believe the 1 star assessment is generous. I hope they manage the hospital in a way that will get them 5 stars. In the meantime perhaps I need a bracelet that says ‘anywhere but the villages’

Sounds like your Doctor is a problem, not the hospital!

[Kelevision]

Originally Posted by gatorbill1

I am very glad we have it here. How many lives have been saved. I was in there twice and treated very well. I am alive because they were there. I don't care how many stars they get.

And then there’s my dad, who passed away due to, IMO, negligence from that very hospital. The staff weren’t nice and one of the nurses actually told my dad to cover his mouth when he coughed. He was in the hospital from complications of radiation for LUNG CANCER…..

[Kelevision]

Originally Posted by charlie1

Sounds like your Doctor is a problem, not the hospital!

The hospital hired that doctor. But yes, I’m sure the hospital itself, as in the building and equipment would warrant more than one star.

[margaretmattson]

Originally Posted by wolfie

I was there three times and each time they were excellent, when the snow birds are here, they are over worked and under staffed, I do not know what Medicare is looking for, but in my eyes, the Village Hospital is excellent and the people that work they are very dedicated. The problem is it's a small hospital. it cannot handle the population that The Villages has grown to remember everybody in the villages goes to the Village Hospital of Leesburg, there are the hospitals you want to go to Jacksonville that's a thousand bed hospital The Villages is only 400 beds

The hospital in Leesburg is managed by the same people as the Villages Hospital. It received a 1 star rating.

[JerryLBell]

I seem to be an exception to a lot of rules that people state on this forum and in The Villages.

I regularly eat at restaurants in The Villages that get poor reviews for service, price and food quality. I always seem to get great service, very decent prices and quite tasty food. I wonder why that is. I'm friendly with the staff and management in my interactions and they are at least as friendly back. I don't find the prices as ridiculous as I have found in other places I've eaten out in(some smaller towns and some larger cities plus travel all over the country and to multiple other countries). I am not a gourmet but I am pretty darned picky about the foods that I do like. And I just don't run into the disappointment that others seem to. Is it me? Or what? Or who?

I've also had a number of surgeries here and in other states and have seen medical staff for routine tests and checkups and the like my whole life while living in three different states. That includes here in The Villages. For basic family doctor visits and checkouts, for simple stuff like colonoscopies and kidney stone removal, for minor eye surgery and for more major spinal surgery, I've had them all done in The Villages at The Villages Hospital and related medical centers and offices and by local doctors and staff, most of whom were highly recommended by my family doctor, other medical staff and/or friends and family living in The Villages. I have never been unhappy with the work I've had done. I've run into nothing but caring, talented and helpful staff who treated me proficiently and in a timely fashion. I've recommended all of them to my own friends here.

Maybe I just didn't retire here to start a career in complaining and picking fault, but my experience seems so different than what I read about that it makes me wonder... Do people ONLY write about their experiences here in The Villages when they feel the desire to complain? Does no one seem to know how to compliment when it is due?

Boy, I must be weird. It's the only answer that seems to make sense.