I still wonder why TVRH is that much different considering both Leesburg and TVRH are actually CFHA. In fact they use the same recruitment staff for both hospitals (I know because I'm currently working with them for jobs at both hospitals).

So if everyone is correct about Leesburg being that much better I'd like to find out why. I will certainly ask this question when I meet with them next month.

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I want YOU for my nurse......if or when I become ill. I will be the tall blond with the self-diagnosis of DBD (Dumb Blond Disease)!!!:D

Careful what you wish for:)

Russ ... I wonder if it is a result of maturity of processes. Leesburg has been around a long time and has mature procedures and processes for doing business. TVRH has grown very quickly .... perhaps its facilities have grown faster than the human ability to manage and hone an operation of this size. And then there is the challenge of dealing with seasonal fluctuations in population.

I have no direct experience with the hospital so this is just speculation.

Possible - Since I'm a 'process' guy maybe I can help. Another angle to use in my interview. I do know that the daily census is way down during the summer months.

I guess everyone's experiences are different, but I will tell you mine. I wrote about this in a similar thread, but don't know what happened to that thread.

My husband had a heart attack in 2009. Had we listed Leesburg as the only place we would go, his outcome may have been not so good or not at all. His attack occurred around 1:30 a.m. and he was in the Cardiac ICU by 4:30 with another stent. He was transported by ambulance a little after 2 and the cath team, along with a cardiologist, had been notified by the time we left here. ER was waiting for him when we got there; he was assessed, prepped, and in the cath lab around 3:00. It was a 10-minute ride to TVH vs 35-45 to Leesburg.

We have only been there for true emergencies, but everything went like clockwork. Sometimes we were there for several hours, but those hours involved x-rays, lab work, etc. which all take lots of time.

Russ

Possibly it could be that the two hospitals are not run by the same in-house executives. Each hospital has their own President and VIP staff.

Two separate entities as far as procedures and possibly policies go. This information one can confirm online.

I speak only from my own experience and no hearsay, and we are so fortunate to be able to be our own advocate and make our own choices for ourselves and our loved ones. ....b

[quote=swimdawg;345528]```````````````
Sorry I wasn't clear. And.........I should have added IMHO. No.........I'm not talking about a legal advocate. I'm talking a relative or friend.....[B]someone who has your best interest at heart.
Not to belabor the point but I just returned from taking my aunt to the neurologist. She is in one of the best-rated nursing homes in NYS. When I looked at her medication list for the neurologist to review, the nursing home paperwork had another patient's meds listed. When I returned to the nursing home, the higher-ups apologized and said, "human error".

While I was there, I received a phone call from a neighbor saying we had a terrible windstorm in our area and part of my roof blew off. Material things can be repaired or replaced. Tomorrow I will be raising the roof with the Administrator of the nursing home!

Bottom line: You need an advocate.

Reply
 

I usually don't contribute, but I couldn't resist the need to make a correction. No hospital may ask insurance information or request a co-pay prior the patient being seen by a medical professional (Nurse Practitioner, Physician's Assistant, or Physician). This is the law.

You memory may be cloudy about the details because you were under stress, but, by the registration clerk you were only asked your name, birthdate, and reason for presenting to the ER. The triage nurse asks more questions of a personal nature within the triage room. After the patient is seen by a Provider, then the secretary may ask for your insurance card and for your co-pay.

Possibly it could be that the two hospitals are not run by the same in-house executives. Each hospital has their own President and VIP staff.



The Villages Regional Hospital and Leesburg hospital are run by the same administartive team. That team is located in the corporate offices in LSL overlooking Lake Sumter. Any wait at the hospital seems like an eon because you are under stress. I have worked in hospitals most of my life and none of them were without waiting. It is the nature of the beast. We definitely need another hospital in TV. Luckily we will be getting one in two years or so.

Several people here have recommended going to an "Urgent Care" facility....in my experience that can be even a worst case option. Three weeks ago my aunt fell during the night. The next day, Tuesday, when I went to see her she was very sore and having trouble walking. I took her to the urgent care facility on Buenos Aires for xrays. We waited there for about three hours to be seen and after the xrays were done the dr. came in and said he didn't see anything wrong but would send the xrays to a radiologist for further screening and call us within 24-48 hrs. if anything was found. She continued to feel bad the remainder of the week but because of her age, 82, we assumed she was just sore and bruised from the fall. One of the nurses at the Springs of Lady Lake decided on Friday to get another X-ray (thank God) and guess what it showed....her hip was fractured. She was immediately taken by ambulance to the TVRH emergency room and admitted. Imagine my surprise when Sunday morning around 9 am the dr. from the urgent care center called me to tell me they just got the radiologist report and it showed there was a fracture....5 days after our original visit. So....in my opinion if it is anything you consider very urgent - go to the hospital as opposed to an urgent care center.

I can say with all honesty; I have never heard, nor experienced this before. Any and everytime I have been to an ER (either as a patient or with the person seeking treatment) the first person I speak to always asks for insurance info.

I agree. In my experience, every visit to a hospital, doctor, urgent care facility or even to a dentist begins with insurance information. When your doctor sends you to a radiology lab for an ultrasound or MRI, even though you have the doctor's prescription in hand, they first get the insurance information. I don't kno w what happens to people without insurance, never having been in that situation. Do they ask for a credit card? Don't know.

We have been fortunate always to have health insurance and that is true, we are always asked first when entering a hospital for any service. That just makes sense. Their employees don't work for nothing.

Twice our family were not asked. Once with grandson with asthma symtoms and once when I was having an allergic reaction to shellfish. I guess because both situations needed immediate attention because each was potentially life threatening.

If the ER people ask for your insurance first, that may be your best indication that you should not be in the ER.